Michaelmas 2021 President's Welcome

Dear all,

On behalf of Oxford Women in Business, I would like to extend to you our warmest welcome. I hope you are well and have found time to recharge for the coming term.

Our purpose at OxWIB is to empower young women to become value-driven leaders in the world of business and beyond by helping them build the skills, connections, and confidence to pursue their own path to success.

This Michaelmas is in many ways a very special term. It marks not only the start of a new academic year, but also a (partial) return to pre-Covid normality, and we are thrilled to finally be able to welcome our members and engage with our speakers in an in-person setting. It is the first time in a long time that we are able to come together, and in light of that, the theme of our termly magazine Insight is “Unite”. It contains fascinating articles, poems, pictures, and so much more, so I’d highly encourage you to give it a read.

In line with our aim of diversifying the meaning of business, we will be exploring a variety of industries through our Business of Online Dating, E-commerce, and Business of Beauty panels. We remain committed to showcasing female leadership across diverse areas of business and are thrilled to announce this term’s Inspirational Women Speakers: Scarlett V Clark, the CEO and founder of the Smart Girl Tribe, as well as Eccie and Gini Newton, the founders of Karma Kitchen.

Mental health awareness is a theme that we will be focusing on in Michaelmas, so watch out for our mindfulness workshop, as well as self-defence and yoga classes that will help you get through 5th week blues. We hope to see you at our bimonthly drop-ins which are a great opportunity to meet and connect with like minded women from across the university in a rather informal setting. I would also like to extend an invitation to President’s Drinks which is bound to be one of the highlights of the term!

At OxWIB we are continuously striving towards self-development and growth and are very excited to announce our Investment Operations Project which is aimed at empowering women by providing them with knowledge and hands-on experience in the field of investing. Through a range of opportunities that include a trading academy, a blockchain workshop, and an impact investing panel, we are hoping to provide our members with the skills and confidence to navigate the world of investing in an independent and empowered way. We are also thrilled to be partnering with Revolut to increase financial wellness amongst young women.

We are privileged to be sponsored by and partner with amazing companies that believe in our vision. To help our members explore career opportunities at top companies, we will therefore be hosting a range of career-focused events including networking sessions, coffee chars, and company presentations – most of them in-person!

To support the career development of our members, we will also be launching the third iteration of our International Mentorship Scheme in Michaelmas. With over 80 mentors from a variety of industries, it presents a unique opportunity to build meaningful connections with accomplished female professionals.

Finally, I would like to thank the Michaelmas committee for the hard work, dedication and enthusiasm they have put into creating this amazing term card. Being part of such a driven committee of incredible young women is a great privilege, and I am so very proud of everything we have achieved as a team.

I wish everyone a wonderful and successful term ahead, and I hope to see you at our events!

Sofija Petrovic President, Michaelmas 2021 Oxford Women in Business