Women in GIS

1. Women in GIS Kelly Wright GIS Applications Specialist LJB Inc. Ohio GIS Conference September 25 – 27, 2017 Hyatt Regency Columbus Columbus, Ohio

2. Women in GIS • Background • Introductions • The Numbers • Questions and Discussion • Put Yourself Out There • Lean In or Out? • Final Thoughts

3. Background • American Association of Geographers • Walking the Tightrope: Women in Geography (2015) • Walking the Tightrope: Making Ideas on Power and Resilience Practical for Women’s Careers in Geography (2016) • Walking the Tightrope: Practical Ideas for Building Inclusive Spaces for Women in Geography (2017) • The 2016 workshop focused on negotiating skills and had an overwhelming positive response. • Where are these sessions at Ohio GIS?

4. Introductions • Kelly Wright – LJB Inc • Robbyn Abbitt – Miami University • Ryan Bowe – Woolpert • Dawn Johnson – Warren County • Cassandra Sampeur – City of Columbus • Haley Zehentbauer – Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, VP Ohio Chapter of URISA

5. Women in URISA Ohio • The Ohio Chapter of URISA has 402 members as of August 2017 • The chapter does not maintain gender statistics • Using members’ names, it was determined that 108 of the 402 members are women • 27% • Thanks to Haley Zehentbauer for these statistics!

6. How did you get here? • How did you end up in a career that involves GIS? • Was it love at first sight, or did you fall into it? • At any point along that trajectory, were you discouraged and/or encouraged because you are a woman? • Have there been any “major left turns” that you were not expecting that led to setbacks and/or better things? • Do you feel that women are equally- or well-represented in GIS? How has that representation changed over time in your career?

7. Fiscal Worth • The gender pay gap is real. What can we do about it? • Have you ever sat down and compared your salary to those of other professionals in your region/city/area/agency/firm? • How did you feel if you noticed discrepancies in those wages? • Did you feel it was because of your gender, qualifications, or both? • Do you feel that you are “worth” the wage that you currently command, and if you want more, how would you affect that change? • Do you consider your free time to be valuable? Have you assigned a dollar value to your free time?

8. Emotional Worth • Women often put others’ needs before their own, be it family, friends, or work. • How do we ensure that we are fully appreciating our own emotional worth? • How do we tell when the line has been crossed between work-life balance, and how do we step back when that line has been crossed without “choosing between” our jobs or families? • If we are under-appreciated at work, what are some ways that we can raise our own self-worth while raising others’ perceptions of worth about us?

9. Children and the Workplace • Can you discuss your experience balancing the need to be a professional and the need to be a present parent? • For those panelists who have raised/are raising children while working, what was your experience returning after child-bonding time? Were you given child-bonding time? • What changes occurred in your work life after children that you regret/were glad of? • How have you worked to balance professional advancement and parenthood? Does professional advancement lose its allure after having children? • If your career trajectory changed after children, did it bother you to see men (or women without children) not having to make those same tough choices?

10. Intersectionality – what does it mean? • Intersectionality refers to the variety of experiences that we each live and includes gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, economic class, education level, immigrant experience, and able-bodiedness. • Since we all have different intersections like these in our lives, how can we be sure that we are not being pigeonholed into being “the voice” for whatever groups we represent at a particular moment in time? • Even in this panel session I am concerned that I am asking women to be the “voice of all women of color” or a “voice for all women in GIS” or a “voice for all working mothers.”

11. Pigeonholed by gender. • Have you felt pigeonholed by the “siren versus Madonna” conundrum in the workplace? • Has that dynamic led to you being inappropriately approached by your colleagues? • Does that dynamic change after having children (i.e. do we become firmly put in the “mommy box”)? • If we do not “fit” into any of these boxes/play this game, are we effectively ostracized from the tribe? • Do we really need to smile all the time? What do you feel when someone tells you to smile more—especially in the context of promotion or other professional perk?

12. Pigeonholed by age. • If we’re young, we “can’t be taken seriously.” As we age, we become “out of touch.” How can we navigate the workplace without being forced into these boxes? • What have been your experiences with age in the workplace? • Is it more or less common to be taken seriously as we age? • Does the burden of playing the part of the siren lessen as we move beyond perceived reproductive age? • Many women say they feel they have “made it” in their late forties and early fifties—or at least they are more comfortable in their own skin. Is this in part because of greater job security that comes with age? • What advice can you give to those trying to achieve that comfort earlier in their careers? • Does success in our microcosm mean that we are less likely to “continue to fight” for equality in the macrocosm?

13. Negotiate. . . like a man? • Strong negotiation skills are an admired trait in the modern American workforce. However, as women we often face pushback for stepping up to the negotiating table with confidence. • Little girls are told “don’t be bossy” but when little boys are bossy they are praised as “learning to be leaders.” • Can you talk about a time where you negotiated well, or poorly, and what the results of that negotiation were? • Were you happy with the results? • What would you have done differently? • How can we learn to feel good about negotiating “like a man?”

14. Discrimination—Let’s call it what it is. • It is scary to use the word discrimination because we have been taught to accept the subtle degradation and insults that make up being a woman in the workplace, but it does not change the fact that it is still discrimination. • Micro-aggressions, while a controversial concept, include • Statements that repeat or affirm stereotypes about a minority group or subtly demean them. • Statements that position the dominant culture as normal and the minority one as aberrant • Statements that express disapproval of or discomfort with the minority group • Statements assuming that all minority group members are the same • Minimize the existence of discrimination against the minority group

15. Have you heard/seen these before? • “What are you girls up to today?” • “Is it that time of the month again?” • “Why are you so sensitive?” • “Women don’t know how to drive right.” • “Will you be on this party-planning committee?” • Women washing dishes or communal spaces at work. • Hearing women called “bitchy,” “shrill,” “aggressive,” or “pushy” when they behave assertively. • RBF • “Why don’t you smile more?”

16. Discrimination—Let’s call it what it is. • Have you found yourself to be discriminated against during your career? • Was it because of your gender, age, sexual orientation (if you are comfortable discussing), international origin, ethnicity, religion, able-bodiedness? • Have you been overlooked for a promotion, or at least felt that you were overlooked because of your gender? • Conversely, do you feel that you have been given advantages in your career because you are a woman?

17. Putting Ourselves Out There • Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them. • This is an oft-quoted statistic, but there is more at play here than meets the eye—it’s not just about confidence. • Required Quals are more like Desired Quals • Girls are socialized to “follow the rules” • men are often hired or promoted based on their potential, women for their experience and track record • Read the Harvard Business Review article at https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified

18. Lean In or Out? • Sheryl Sandberg’s book is both honored and reviled. • Women are pressured not to accept compliments about their accomplishments. • Women traditionally do not consider taking opportunities if they do not feel qualified to execute them • Success and Likeability are inversely related for women • The falsehood of “Having it all” • Common criticisms include: • “Lean In” isn’t for women of color or single mothers—it doesn’t consider the reality of intersectionality • The message comes across as “any woman willing to work hard enough can climb the corporate ladder to the top”—this is patently incorrect. • “Lean In” won’t incite social change, but rather provide women advice on how to become successful within existing conditions

19. Final Thoughts • What do YOU think?