“Do not do this job if you don’t like problems,” said Gabriela Hearst , founder and creative director of her namesake label Tuesday night.

Hearst was speaking about her career to a roomful of students and industry executives at the Parsons School of Design, along with Rachel Scott , founder and creative director of Diotima and creative director of Proenza Schouler , and Veronica Leoni, creative director of Calvin Klein Collection.

The panel discussion, titled “Women Leaders Crafting a New Fashion Future,” was organized and moderated by Julie Gilhart, fashion consultant, and presented by the Gromek Institute for Fashion Business.

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While women make up 75 percent of fashion graduates, the power at the top of the industry presents a totally different picture. Only a small fraction of the industry’s top roles are held by women. The conversation explored how Hearst, Leoni and Scott have built authority in the fashion industry still shaped by unequal power, and how different their paths were.…