When a vendor paid a visit to Realityworks, a business selling educational products for family/consumer education and health teachers, he got a surprise when he encountered CEO Mary Jurmain.

After arriving at the business, the vendor met Jurmain and she offered to help him. The vendor gave her a confused look and moved on to the male employee he had an appointment with. Later, the vendor needed to see the CEO of the company; he was surprised when he was led into Jurmain’s office.

When she recalled this story at the Women’s History Month panel, “Women in the Business World: Opportunities and challenges,” Jurmain said these type of incidents are amusing but also irritating.

The panel took place Wednesday in the Presidents Room of Davies Center. It focused on the challenges women face in today’s corporate climate.

Jurmain and three other female business leaders answered questions from moderator Rama Yelkur, a UW-Eau Claire management and marketing assistant professor, and the 21-person audience.

Along with Jurmain, the panel consisted of Lori Bishop, a Century 21 Metro realtor; Mary Kay Brevig, communications and public relations manager for Eau Claire Energy Cooperative; and Sue Tietz, CEO of McDonough Manufacturing Company.

Freshman Tracey Ullom, who attended the panel, said it was interesting to hear from women who have been in the business world and survived.

Ullom said she is unsure about her career path right now, but she knows she wants to be in business.

When Jurmain started her business 10 years ago, managing men was a problem, but now it isn’t as bad, she said.

Men at her company would dislike taking orders from a woman, and she said she thinks some of her subordinates were acting in a sexist manner. They didn’t even know it, though.

Tietz, whose company makes sawmill machinery, said things have changed from a male dominated corporate atmosphere. There are still business owners, however, who conduct themselves in a sexist ways.

“Don’t fool yourself,” she said. “The good ol’ boys are still out there.”

Tietz, who became CEO of McDonough Manufacturing in 1995, said the “gender thing” should not be a consideration for choosing a career path.

“Don’t do it because you’re a woman,” she said. “Do it because you are the best person to do it.”

To manage her family and her job, Bishop found a few ways to work with her flexible schedule as a realtor.

When Bishop was a single mother with two children, her kids would take her schedule book and write in appointments for themselves.

Bishop said she found friends who would help with her children as she worked and showed houses to clients.

She said she ripped the “S” for Superwoman off of her shirts a long time ago.

Jurmain also found ways to balance her career and family.

“Be selective about what you do and don’t do,” she said.

The advice Ullom said she felt would help her the most as she goes through college and enters the work force was to not climb the corporate ladder in the typical fashion.

Jurmain avoided the problem of trying to get noticed and promoted by starting her business with her husband and eventually becoming CEO.

She encouraged young women to be entrepreneurs so they don’t have to deal with problems associated with corporations.

Ullom said she was concerned not only with her specific business career field, but also in just finding a job in the current market.

“It’s tough to be young and inexperienced,” she said, “no matter who you are.”