Meet UNSW’s 2024 Women in Business Ambassadors
Introducing Angela Le
Introducing Angela Le
The UNSW Business School is committed to gender equity and inclusion by embracing the principles of UNSW's first Gender Equity Strategy to enshrine inclusive practices and enable students and staff of all genders to feel valued, respected and able to be their authentic selves.
To this end, each year UNSW Business School appoints x5-7 Women in Business Ambassadors (WIBA) to support and uplift female-identifying students across the undergraduate disciplines where females are typically underrepresented:
This is an exciting leadership development opportunity for 2nd or 3rd-year female-identifying undergraduate students who are studying either Risk and Actuarial Studies, Information Systems, Banking and Finance, or Economics and have a passion for the promotion of young female participation and educational development in these areas.
UNSW Business School believes it crucial for the student voice and experience to be incorporated into the work the UNSW Business School Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) team carries out throughout the year and the WIBA play a leadership role within our student engagement, representation, and advocacy as part of the UNSW Business Schools 2021+ strategy.
The UNSW Business School EDI is honoured to introduce you to one of our 2024 Women in Business Ambassadors: Angela Le, UNSW Bachelor of Commerce Co-op (Accounting and Business Management), double majoring in Finance.
Dream career or industry to work at: A dynamic environment that continually challenges me and offers multi-disciplinary opportunities.
My favourite high school subjects involved problem-solving and analysis, such as Mathematics and Business Studies. As such, Accounting and Finance was a perfect blend of these passions and an avenue I naturally gravitated towards. However, it was after I attended the UNSW Girls in Business Camp in 2019 that encouraged me to study at UNSW, due to the positive experiences and immersion the university offered me to experience real-world opportunities and put theory into practice!
Being part of the UNSW Co-op program has accelerated my capability to lead beyond graduation, through industry placements. However, I owe my growth to the professional development events run by student societies and the mentorship and certification opportunities offered by UNSW Employability and Career Accelerator. All of which are aimed at providing students with heightened industry exposure. Some of my experiences include accessing UNSW's Work Integrated Learning courses, case competitions and Alumni mentoring programs.
I have been fortunate enough to use these soft skills from my experiences to further engage within my community. My personal initiatives include working on a passion project centred around water sustainability, where I was heavily supported by UNSW's resources to uplift my efforts. I have also been privileged to be an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador and member of the Students as Partners Consultative Group to represent UNSW in furthering high school students' tertiary education ambitions and advising on key social matters that impact our community.
The UNSW Business School is taking massive strides in ensuring improved gender equity and female representation in business! This is seen within the Development Programs catered specifically to female business students, the increased prevalence of female-led business societies and Women in Finance scholarships which enable females to thrive within their pathway.
Particularly, I would like to see female leaders such as UNSW academics, industry partners and students continue to champion this. It is through increased visibility of inspiring females in business which catalyses improved representation and participation.
While there has been considerable progress throughout recent years for female representation in Finance, a large disparity still remains between male and female counterparts in terms of accessibility to opportunity and remuneration. These glass ceiling barriers motivate me to use my voice to champion more equitable outcomes for working females so that we can achieve a future where female leadership in elite and emerging organisations isn't seen as a rarity.
My motivation as a Women in Business Ambassador stems from my desire to share my lived experiences as a female-identifying student, aspiring to be at the top in my field. During high school, I was privy to the gender constructs which can hinder a female from actively pursuing their career ambitions within a traditionally male-dominated industry such as finance.
My experiences have taught me to always be bold despite this, be unafraid to self-advocate and persist towards success. As such, I hope my story can some shed light for fellow female peers, particularly younger high school students, about the importance of not letting social constructs define you and your dreams for success.
UNSW Business School is committed to identifying and addressing the inequities and challenges facing women in higher education and research. We have implemented several strategies to ensure equity in student recruitment, retention, development opportunities and the promotion of women in both academic and professional staff roles.
Find out more about this and other Women in Business initiatives here.