By: Katelyn Norris
Women comprise more than half of Bellarmine University’s student population, and one campus registered student organization is striving to give those students a place to be heard and empowered.
Leading Women of Tomorrow is a new RSO. However, LWT began as a special interest group in fall 2018, with a mission to empower women hoping to go into political or legal careers.
LWT Vice President Molly Rovinski said she joined the organization as a first-year student after the LWT’s founder spoke to her and other political science majors. Rovinski said she has had the privilege to watch LWT move its focus from just women in politics to empowering women in general.
“When I first heard of Leading Women of Tomorrow, I thought it was important to empower women and let them know that their voices matter and take that initiative to put themselves in leadership positions,” she said.
Junior Elyse Frye, the organization’s president, said LWT has allowed her to break out of her shell because she is very out of her comfort zone as a leader. She said her time in the organization has made her more outspoken and she hopes that it is able to give other women the same opportunity.
“I like to think that I can help other girls with growing in confidence as well. It was great for me to just have people there,” Frye said. “I want other people to know that we are listening, and I want to have a safe space to grow and like express their own ideas.”
Rovinski said most members have grown in their leadership ability but the organization is the one thing LWT members are having a hard time expanding. Frye said LWT officially became an RSO right before the pandemic started and it has had difficultly recruiting new members. Although, Rovinski said quite a few first-years and sophomores show interest in LWT.
“We really didn’t get to get into its last spring or during the fall, so I am hoping that we get to do more this semester and continue to grow,” Rovinski said. “I want us to grow next year as well and continue to help underclassmen let their voices be heard.”
Lauren Coffey, LWT’s faculty adviser, said despite its slow growth in numbers, she has seen LWT’s mission and members evolve into something bigger. Coffey said she watched LWT’s executive board grow and expand its collaborations with other RSOs.
“They come into their own on campus. We’re fortunate that several of our e-board members are not yet seniors because that is certainly going to be a change for us in the next year,” Coffey said. We are looking for new ways – creative ways – to engage the next generation of student leaders on our campus.”
March is Women’s History Month, and Frye said LWT has several events planned to celebrate. Rovinski said members are doing a month-long hygiene drive to collect products that are affected by the pink tax.
The pink tax is the tendency for products marketed toward women to be more expensive than a similar item marketed toward men.
“We are going to try to donate those products to the Kentucky Refugee Ministry at the end of the drive,” she said. “With Covid, it has been really hard to try and find an organization to donate toward.”
Frey said they will also have a discussion and talk about the pink tax during March. She also said LWT has requested a Kentucky state representative to come speak at the event. The Kentucky House of Representatives is discussing a bill that will eliminate or decrease the pink tax in the state.
Frye said she is hopeful all LWT events will be successful. She said she is very happy with the response for the hygiene drive and the group will announce more Women’s History Month activities on social media.
“It’s great that people are trying to participate in the drive. I was talking about if it’s not easy for some to give physical donations then some people have been donating with money,” Frye said. “It’s been great to see people actually like paying attention trying to participate.”
Rovinski said LWT has big plans for the fall, and the group is prepared to make the most of every event. She said she recently has become very aware of how many female students hold leadership positions on campus and she wants LWT to continue to give them a space.
“I don’t think a lot of women know that they are being impacted in certain parts of their lives by simply being women. I think that raising awareness of that is important,” Rovinski said. “We want to continue doing that next semester and the service component. Not just something that is impacting Bellarmine but the community and seeing things that are affecting other women beyond our campus.”