WOMEN IN GEOSPATIAL+
Women+ have always been a part of the mapping world and gradually have become a more integral part of conversations, particularly within the larger discussion about equity. Women in Geospatial+ is a vibrant, growing community and a professional network to promote gender-equality in the geospatial industry and academia.
Through this community we believe, (I say we, because I am a proud member of this group) in changing the status quo by creating a strong network of Women in Geospatial+ leaders and changemakers. To represent all people from underrepresented gender backgrounds, including cis women, trans women, trans men, non-binary people and people who are otherwise marginalized, we use the terms ‘people from underrepresented gender backgrounds’ or ‘women+’. The group brings together academia and geospatial industry at a common communication platform, conducts events and also provides career mentorship opportunities.
Another important aspect that this group works on, is recognizing that there are fewer women+ professional speakers at events and conferences. Through the Gender Diversity & Inclusion in Events Report in 2019, Bizzabo found only 33.62% female representation as professional event speakers, while analyzing thousands of events over the past years.
The gender equity does seem to have improved over the years, but only a marginal increase. The data implies that only one-third of professional event speakers are female.
Geospatial conferences and events also reflect the same pattern and often lack diversity in the composition of geospatial conference speakers. If you try to reason out, you get to know the common excuse – “We were unable to find women+ speakers.“
To bridge the gap, Women in Geospatial+ created a global speakers database. We welcome all people from underrepresented gender backgrounds to add their profile so they can be invited to speak at events! Event organizers and speakers have informed the network that they have been successfully matched thanks to the database. More than 300 women+ speakers are already a part of the database. You can check out the list or the map here. You can filter by work sector, years of work experience, area or domain of expertise, presenting language or by location.
https://speakers.womeningeospatial.org/speakers
Women in Geospatial+’s social media accounts, give out updates about interesting events and conferences. Just found a recent tweet calling out for a networking event at FOSS4G 2021.
Here we are, calling for all women+ who wish to discuss challenges, leadership, prospects, career paths and also casually network! Let’s meet at @foss4g. We’ll have a date or two! https://t.co/hajpO6iSRd
— Women in Geospatial+ (@geospatialwomen) July 26, 2021
There is also a series of impactful webinars managed by Women in Geospatial+ members. I have personally gained tremendous confidence by attending some of the career advice webinars, and also got a wonderful opportunity to be a panelist at an Early Careers webinar, and got to share my story and career journey with others.
Looking forward to seeing more profiles created and added to our speaker database, more members added to our Slack communication channel and more of such webinars. Please reach out if you need additional details.
Resources
- Website – https://speakers.womeningeospatial.org/
- LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-geospatial/
- Twitter – https://twitter.com/geospatialwomen
- Sign up for the Slack Communication channel – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevWkuQT5IAnA_SPukInqOH97ZoPKUQxg_MYKBgqpbFHb72Ww/viewform
- Women in Geospatial+ Steering Committee – https://www.womeningeospatial.org/join/steering-committee
- Career Mentorship Program – https://www.womeningeospatial.org/join/mentorship
- Email – for Partnerships or Collaborations. Also looking for support in website building/maintenance or graphic design.
- Webinar Series – https://www.womeningeospatial.org/events/webinar-series
