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Physical Therapist Sam Schmidt with Alpine Physical Therapy was one of the first sponsors to jump on the bandwagon of the Montana Chamber’s inaugural summit for women in business. Schmidt was immediately drawn to the “Blazing Saddles” conference coinciding with International Women’s Day, March 6-8, 2024, because she’s seen firsthand the challenges women face breaking into business. But she’s also seen the value of bringing diverse viewpoints into leadership positions in Montana.
“Inclusion of all perspectives is important,” Schmidt said. “Invite others to the table or get to the table so you can really have the most productive or rich conversation. So you can solve problems.”
The conference will have presentations from women in mining, women engineers, women in agriculture and many other leaders. Panels include topics like “cracking the glass ceiling, advancing your career in male-dominated industries.”
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Schmidt grew up in Hamilton, with a single mother who didn’t attend college.
“She did her best,” Schmidt said. “But we were pretty poor.”
The impact of that upbringing heavily influenced Schmidt’s values, which she has carried with her as she’s risen through the ranks at Alpine Physical Therapy to become a co-owner. She believes, for instance, in the importance of child care. She and her Alpine colleagues regularly cover for one another when one of their children is sick, and they create an atmosphere of flexibility and understanding around work-life balance.
“Most countries have an industry of care,” she pointed out. “In the U.S., we have women.”
Child care is just one of the many challenges Schmidt has encountered as she’s developed into a businesswoman alongside co-owners Leah Versteegen and Angela Listug-Vap. She believes in the importance of balance and bringing multiple approaches to each situation, but she also said women’s experiences in business can be fundamentally distinct from male counterparts’.
Those challenges she’s faced aren’t necessarily hindrances, though. Schmidt explained she’s felt fortunate to work in a female-dominated workplace with a supportive male mentor in founder Brent Dodge. Schmidt said she and her partners bring different strategies, backgrounds and principles to some of their work than men in their field do, and she’s supportive of the summit because she wants to encourage those approaches.
“I am excited to see the different perspectives that are coming up,” she said. “I’m really excited they (the Montana Chamber) are creating a space.”
Candace Carr Strauss with the Montana Chamber is equally excited about debuting the women’s summit. She said the new event — inspired by a similar summit that took place in Sedona, Arizona — has a goal to build connective tissue between women in many fields. The proceeds from the event will also go to policy efforts around beefing up child care.
“I absolutely believe we face different challenges (than men),” Carr Strauss said.
She, too, pointed to child care, and she also highlighted the trend that indicates men typically take greater risks in their careers than women do. A well-known Hewlett Packard internal report, for instance, revealed women frequently apply to jobs where they meet 100% of the qualifications, while men regularly apply with just about 60% of the requirements.
“I just saw the power of women collectively coming together in Sedona,” said Carr Strauss. “And I would love to do that here in the Treasure State.”
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