In honor of Women’s History Month, Salt Lake Community College School of Business professor Penny Bivens hopes her life experiences inspire other women to push for change.
Since she began teaching at SLCC in August 2016, Bivens has used Women’s History Month as a time to talk about the ongoing gender pay disparity and the continual fight for women’s suffrage that started more than 100 years ago.
“We are still continuing to fight for our rights,” Bivens said.
In an interview for The Globe, Bivens shared different aspects of her life, including her accomplishments as a business owner, a leader and as a mother. Bivens, who also advises the SLCC Business Leaders Club, also discussed the struggles of being a woman in leadership.
The month of March can be seen as an annual reminder to check the status of gender disparities. Bivens said the pay gap continues to be a problem for women in the workforce, which is supported by data published by the Economic Policy Institute.
According to the EPI, women averaged 37.7% less earnings than men in 1979. The disparity gradually dropped to 23.2% in 1994 due to stagnation in men’s wages during this period. However, the gap has remained over 20% for the last three decades, and in 2023, women still averaged 21.8% less earnings than men.
Bivens always wanted to own her own business, and has pursued several avenues to achieve that goal.
“I created [a] digital scrapbooking software,” Bivens said. “I bought a Cold Stone [Creamery] franchise and ran that for about 10 years. Then, I […] started a consulting business when I left Intel to help small local companies here in Utah build culture.”
Despite her achievements, Bivens faced challenges during her journey. One example of her struggles involved her treatment regarding business matters as an employee.
“The company [I worked for] thought there was just too much liability to send women [abroad] because they just weren’t safe to travel by themselves, like men [were],” Bivens said.
Even though she achieved success in the business world, Bivens is most proud of her role as a parent.
“With having raised four kids that are responsible, good humans, it’s really the [most rewarding] work, you know, being a mom,” Bivens said.
Bivens’ influence has also impacted her students. Ethan McQuarrie, president of the Business Leaders Club, recalled the influence Bivens had as his first marketing professor.
“I felt such joy from the room and was ecstatic that I gained a mentor in Penny,” McQuarrie said. “She has since become a critical role in my day-to-day life.”
Along with McQuarrie, Grace Smyth, a current student of Bivens, shared appreciation for Bivens’ personality and character.
“I do like her as a teacher and as a person,” Smyth said. “I feel like she answers questions really well and she’s a good teacher to, I think, learn from.”
