Abigail Dunagan, Campus Carrier features editor

Cammie Wilks, Campus Carrier asst. features editor

Every career path has its own share of stereotypes and misconceptions. Many academic departments are heavily skewed toward one gender. Though business has been a field historically dominated by men, this has been changing rapidly throughout the 21st century. Women in the business industry, whether working in the corporate world or managing their own company, are becoming more and more present every year. According to INCAE Business School, in 1973, there was only one female CEO of a Fortune 500 company. During this time, only 38 percent of the U.S. workforce were women. By 2019, that number had increased to 46.2 percent, while 37 Fortune 500 companies had a female CEO.

Although business is often looked at as a male-dominated field, over the years this dynamic has begun to even out. This is especially true for Berry’s own business department, as the Campbell School of Business in Green is the alma mater of many accomplished women in the fields of business and management.                                     

Associate Professor of Business Communication Samantha Nazione has had a unique journey to get to where she currently works in Berry’s business department. She holds three degrees from Michigan State University: a bachelor’s in communication, a master’s in health communication and a Ph.D. in communication. She previously worked as the communication department chair at Berry, but in 2021, she received an offer to work in the business department. Nazione has conducted research on topics such as campaign implementation and survey design. She has also been instrumental in many marketing projects at Berry, including her work with the 2019 Berry rebranding effort and assessment surveys. Switching from communications to business was a big adjustment, but Nazione has found the different opportunities to be rewarding. 

While business and communication can overlap, Nazione said that the switch has allowed her to expand her skillset. Her previous educational background was centered around quantitative classes, but teaching in the business department has allowed her to better understand the social science aspect of business. 

“For those of us that get a Ph.D., I think it’s a requirement that you love learning,” Nazione said. “Everyone here has been incredibly welcoming.” 

Charles A. Dana Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship Paula Englis is another business professor who had an impressive career before her time teaching. Before coming to Berry, she worked in event planning and managing until she finished her master’s degree. One of her economics classes was all it took to get her interested in getting her Ph.D, while teaching as an adjunct at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Originally from the United Kingdom, Englis had always been interested in doing business in both the U.K. and America throughout her career. When writing her dissertation, she was the first to study foreign global firms. She became an expert on the topic, and her research has appeared in more than 78 publications. When she isn’t teaching at Berry, she can be found at the University of Twente in the Netherlands during the summer, where she conducts research and engages with international business startups.

“Women have made such strides [in business] since I was a Ph.D. student, not only in climbing the corporate ladder but also in terms of starting their own businesses,” Englis said. “Women are very capable in multitasking and moving things forward, and there’s not as many barriers as their used to be.”

Senior Elizabeth Chandler arrived at Berry as a public relations major and later added a second major in marketing because she wanted to merge her passion in creative storytelling with her interest in data and analytics. Splitting her time between the business and communication departments, Chandler has found that the marketing world tends to be more female-dominated, while business areas like accounting and finance tend to be male-dominated. 

“I haven’t really experienced any gender-related issues within the department,” Chandler said. “I am grateful that all my professors and classmates have been really respectful. I think it helps that I’ve built a reputation as a research assistant, and people really value my insight, so I don’t have to prove myself.” 

After graduation, Chandler currently plans to pursue her masters in public relations at the University of Georgia. After completing her masters, she hopes to either continue her education with a Ph.D., or to enter the workforce with the skills she’s gained throughout college. Although she finds that the stereotypes associated with business majors to be somewhat untrue, Chandler believes it is important to keep an open mind and to not be intimidated by the assumptions that business is a male-dominated field. 

“I definitely had to re-wire my brain into realizing that these are super-cool humans too,” Chandler said. “They don’t think that I am somehow less smart, or less significant because I am small.” 

Though stereotypes have warped how people envision women the business world, public perceptions have since changed. Women in business classes at Berry contribute to changing small misconceptions.

“I think having more business people from Berry makes the world a better place,” Englis said.