By RORY MOORE
Tiger Media Network
The Fort Hays State University American Democracy Project and Student Government Association hosted an International Women’s Day Panel inside the Black and Gold Room on Wednesday. Madison Albers and Miriam Benavides-Ortega led a panel consisting of Hsin-Yen Yang, April Park and Wendy Rohleder-Sook.
One of the topics discussed was self-care, and each panelist advised on how to practice the method.
“When I’m stressed, one of the things I do is avoid the things I should take care of,” Park, a professor of psychology, said. “My act of self-care is to look at some of the things I must take care of, the ones I want to avoid for obvious reasons, and try to face those things.”
Dr. April Park, Dr. Hsin-Yen Yang, and Dr. Wendy Rohleder-Sook take questions at the International Women’s Day panel. 
The American Democracy Project and Student Government Project host the International Women’s Day Panel inside the Black and Gold Room. 
Each panelist shared their experience in the work force and how they navigated male-dominated settings. 
Rohleder-Sook speaks on how her support system has helped her career path as Yang listens. 
Park would like to see more female representation in leadership roles.
Yang, a communication studies professor, uses time management as her self-care.
“We all have a busy schedule,” she said. “I do my best to schedule my time so the day or night before, I will know what’s going on the next day. I’ve also learned to find your limit. Don’t schedule too many things and say yes all the time. It’s okay to take a break, but keep everybody informed. So, if there are three things that are due tomorrow and you really can’t do it, notify your team and supervisor. Keep them in the loop and get some discipline.”
Rohleder-Sook, chair of the Department of Communication Studies, uses work-life balance as her method.
“I’ve heard it better described as work-life harmony and something that may fluctuate over time, depending on where you are in life and what responsibilities you take,” she said. “I regulated that into two categories: one is personal commitments like exercise, two dogs that require a lot of attention, and sitting out on my back deck listening to the birds. The other one is support, whether at work or outside of work, to lift you up and support you.”
She said such support is best from women.
“I find that my biggest support comes from other women,” Rohleder-Sook said. “Many of them might just be there to say, ‘Hey! How’s it going?’ or whatever it might be to lessen the stress and say, ‘I get it. I’ve been there.’ I’m part of Women Who Lead, an organization that does great community service-type work, and that’s another way women helping other women that I find very supportive.”
One question for the panelists asked how motherhood has influenced their career path.
“I’ve successfully raised my child to adulthood,” Rohleder-Sook said. “I was working in Lawrence while my husband was working in Topeka. We decided to move to Hays so we could be closer to family, and we had to figure out who had the flexibility to stay home with my son because it was going to be one of us. Having a support system, whether that’s family or friends who can sometimes pick up those loads is really helpful.”
The panelists were asked about cultivating confidence against self-doubt in a male-dominated setting, and Yang attributed her answer to her experience.
“Since I got to the United States, even when I was in Taiwan, I never had a male colleague who was toxic,” she said. “Because of the leadership style, sometimes we doubt ourselves. Am I strong enough? Am I assertive enough? Am I being bossy? The list goes on. My friends say they never thought about those things. They want something, they get it.”
She emphasized the need to avoid being overly polite, which she called the ‘Nice Girl Syndrome.’
“We need to find a balance between being nice and being professional, efficient and assertive, and not being aggressive,” Yang said. “Being assertive doesn’t mean you are aggressive. When you have self-doubt, reach out to your colleagues. A lot of women need that support, and I’m very fortunate that I can reach out to my colleagues to be well prepared.”
Park noted that while progress has been made, she wishes to see female representation in leadership across professional spaces.
“I’d like to see more women represented in leadership roles in any organization or task force,” she said. “If you compare psychology students 100 years ago, it’s now female-dominated, but when you look at the proportion of men in leadership, it doesn’t change much. So, I’d assume that that is similar in other professions when finding that gap. That’s what I’d like and hope to see.”
She sees academia as a viable means of enabling successful women and teaching girls to hone their skills.
“What we could do is a grassroots movement,” Park said. “There are a variety of things we can cultivate, like promoting the mentorship or sponsorship program to develop these skills for women. I feel very fortunate to be in my department having strong female leadership but I think more systematic changes in organizations could be one step we can work towards.”