Women discuss IR career options

Mackenzie Eaglen said that many might assume she's a secretary when she walks into a room.

But Eaglen actually helped develop a substantial part of this year's Pentagon budget.

Wednesday evening, Eaglen and five other women professionals from government, nonprofit organizations and the corporate world formed a roundtable to discuss careers for women in international relations. The event also featured a talk by a woman leader in the field of IR.

Wednesday's event drew around 60 female students to Vance Hall. Panelists shared thoughts on why they embarked on internationally-oriented careers and on their challenges, experiences and success strategies as professional women.

"I had never heard of DIA," said Marianne Alves, a 1993 College graduate who is now an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency. Reflecting on gender barriers, Alves noted that "at the very highest levels there is still a bit of a ceiling," and that she had heard of female colleagues "being expected to plan the parties or get the coffee."

However, Alves noted that divisions at work were "more of a generational issue." Alves spoke enthusiastically about how "with intel[ligence] you get to know what's really going on" in the world of public diplomacy.

School of Arts and Sciences graduate Mary Muldoon entered pharmaceutical company Wyeth just as it was internationalizing. Given the task of integrating Wyeth's global information systems, she gained a practical education in international relations, overcoming cultural and bureaucratic barriers to perform her job.

The roundtable was followed by an address on European defense and security policy by Gale Mattox, a political science professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and president of Women in International Security, a group dedicated to boosting the participation of women in the foreign policy community worldwide.

After the session, Muldoon reflected on the enduring need for technical skills in international business.

"In business you have to have a skill... and then on that, you fit in international experience or exposure," she said. "We're not in the business of IR. IR is part of our business."

Reacting to the roundtable, College junior Radhika Bhattacharya noted how "it's good to see women in the field because it gives you the belief that you, too, can overcome gender biases in society."

College senior Stephanie Oliva found the event to be a career eye-opener.

"I found places to consider that I didn't know anything about," she said.

The event was organized by the IR Program, Penn's chapter of Sigma Iota Rho, the IR honors society and the Fund to Encourage Women of the Trustees Council of Penn Women.

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