{"id":47702,"date":"2018-08-07T10:40:52","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T17:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcuser&p=47702"},"modified":"2024-04-26T16:38:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T23:38:19","slug":"empowering-womens-voices-at-esri-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"arcuser","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/empowering-womens-voices-at-esri-and-beyond","title":{"rendered":"Empowering Women\u2019s Voices at Esri and Beyond"},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[24982],"tags":[25072,25092],"arcuser_issues":[24952],"class_list":["post-47702","arcuser","type-arcuser","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-end-notes","tag-esri-user-conference","tag-women-in-gis","arcuser_issues-arcuser-summer-2018"],"acf":{"short_description":"WeCan organization put on a panel on Women in GIS at Esri User Conference.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"pdf","file":53892},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","content":"Being bold, seizing opportunities, building a community, and elevating women were some of the key messages of the WeCan Empower Your Voice panel, held July 11, at the 2018 Esri User Conference (Esri UC)."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The panel was put on by the Women\u2019s Empowerment and Career Advancement Network (WeCan). An internal, grassroots organization at Esri, WeCan seeks to give women resources that they can use to make headway in their careers. WeCan invited four extraordinary women\u2014Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds, Dr. Karen Kemp, Alison Rose, and Lilian Coral\u2014to participate in the well-attended panel discussion.\r\n\r\n \u201cFigure out what\u2019s important to you,\u201d urged Brown-Hinds, founding partner of Voice Media Ventures, a multimedia company that emphasizes community engagement and outreach throughout California. \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of life you want to build.\u201d<\/span>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":51052,"text":"\u201cFigure out what\u2019s important to you, that\u2019s the kind of life you want to build.\u201d","author_name":"Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201c[Take]<\/i> the opportunities that are handed to you\u2014sometimes not knowing at all that they\u2019re important,\u201d advised Kemp, professor of the practice of spatial sciences at the University of Southern California\u2019s (USC) Spatial Sciences Institute."},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":51072,"text":"\u201c[Take] the opportunities that are handed to you\u2014sometimes not knowing at all that they\u2019re important.\u201d","author_name":"Dr. Karen Kemp","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201cRaise [your voice]<\/i> in an effectual way,\u201d stressed Rose, who recently became Esri\u2019s global national government marketing director after spending the majority of her career in the Australian Department of Defence."},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":51092,"text":"\u201cRaise [your voice] in an effectual way.\u201d","author_name":"Alison Rose","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201cYou have to have courage and just step into it,\u201d said Coral, who, after an effective stint as the chief data officer for the City of Los Angeles, is now the director of national strategy and technology innovation at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u201cMake moves. It forces you to be comfortable with change and adaptation.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":51102,"text":"\u201cYou have to have courage and just step into it.\u201d","author_name":" Lilian Coral","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Although women have certainly made progress in the workplace over the last few decades, there are still important disparities to overcome. In the United States, women accounted for almost 60 percent of bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees and 52 percent of doctoral degrees earned in 2014\u20132015, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Yet they make up only 26 percent of senior-level managers and executives\u2014and just 5 percent of CEOs\u2014at S&P 500 companies, reports the nonprofit Catalyst.\r\n\r\nIn the US tech industry, they fare even worse, consisting of only 20 percent of executives, senior officers, and managers, according to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. And in 2016, 43 percent of the top tech companies in Silicon Valley still lacked female executive officers, reports Fenwick & West LLP, a technology and life sciences law firm.\r\n\r\nTo women working in these industries, those aren\u2019t just statistics. They have real and lasting effects on how women do their jobs and how far women can get in their careers. That is why this past November, a group of women at Esri founded WeCan. Meetings every other week vary in content from tutorials on how to write more authoritative emails to hearing Esri\u2019s female leaders speak about their professional experiences. The group has attracted about 280 participants in nine short months.\r\n\r\nTo solidify its place in the Esri ecosystem, the organization partnered with Esri\u2019s Young Professionals Network (YPN) to put on the WeCan panel at this year\u2019s user conference. \u201cAt Esri, nothing\u2019s really official until it happens at the user conference,\u201d observed Julia Lenhardt, imagery product engineer and WeCan admin.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe have this platform\u2014this group, this network, these resources, the infrastructure\u2014to put on a really meaningful event for women not only at Esri but at the user conference as well,\u201d said Margot Manasevit, an account manager on Esri\u2019s global business development team and one of the leaders of WeCan. \u201cThere are amazing women in attendance, so we want to showcase the great resources that we have here for women.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cFor me, being young and new to the professional world, it\u2019s just great to see women in higher positions in tech, or just in general, talking about women and diversity,\u201d said Josie Imrie, a recent graduate of the University of Oregon who interned at Esri and is now job searching. \u201cIt gives me people to look up to and [shows me]<\/i> that there are so many different paths you can take with GIS.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cBeing able to see the four women discuss their experiences felt empowering because they all come from such diverse backgrounds,\u201d said Christina Boggs-Chavira, an engineering geologist who cofounded Women in GIS. \u201cIt really let each person who attended the panel get something different out of it.\u201d\r\n\r\nSome attendees also enjoyed the camaraderie they found with other women\u2014a sentiment echoed by the WeCan organizers.\r\n\r\n\u201cI work with a lot of men, and everyone is super great and supportive, but it\u2019s really difficult for me to find other women in the company to be friends with and get career inspiration from,\u201d said Jillian Foster, a product engineer on the ArcGIS Pro graphics team who also manages the WeCan listserve. \u201cI hope that attendees were able to see themselves in the women who were up there and are inspired to continue pursuing their dreams.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":51112,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"This appeared to be the case, with attendees reflecting afterward how motivated they felt to take chances and chart their own careers the way all four panelists have.\r\n\r\n\u201cMy first plan was to be an academic,\u201d said Brown-Hinds, thinking she wanted to focus on scholarly writing, which garners a relatively small audience. But then she took over her family\u2019s newspaper, Black Voice News<\/i>, and found herself putting out powerful editorials that gave a voice to people who don\u2019t have one.\r\n\r\n\u201cI wrote a piece, and within 10 minutes of sending it out, our chief of police called me. He had just read it, and he had concerns about it,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThat was the moment I really realized how powerful my voice was.\u201d\r\n\r\nNot only did Brown-Hinds\u2019s writing begin to effect change in the community, but it also led people to become much more interested in her as a civic leader. Now, she sits on the board of The James Irvine Foundation, which provided more than $90 million in grants in 2017 to individuals and organizations throughout California.\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019m able to make an impact in a way that I never imagined when I was writing for our little newspaper there in Riverside, California,\u201d she said.\r\n\r\nKemp mapped out a career of her own liking within academia. She was 34 when she entered the PhD program in geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was told she\u2019d have to toil for years as an assistant professor and then an associate professor before becoming a full professor. But that wasn\u2019t the kind of lifestyle she wanted. Instead, she took on directorial roles at various universities before being lured to the University of Redlands as an associate professor to create and lead the master\u2019s in GIS program. After several successful but intense years, she left for a simpler life in Hawaii. USC soon hired her as a lecturer (the lowest rank, usually reserved for new professors). Within a couple years, she was a full professor again.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou don\u2019t have to do what the world says is the path,\u201d she told the audience.\r\n\r\nThis is something Rose understands, having moved from the world of geospatial intelligence to private sector GIS. In her new role, she hopes to hone a legacy that inspires and motivates others to love their jobs as much as she does, as well as cultivate a supported and happy family.\r\n\r\n\u201cThat is ultimately my priority,\u201d she said.\r\n\r\nBut nobody can attain their career goals unaided\u2014especially women who still have such high hurdles to clear.\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019ve always had this sense that you don\u2019t just succeed because you\u2019re brilliant,\u201d concluded Coral. \u201cYou really do rely on a network of people.\u201d\r\n\r\nAttendees of the WeCan panel were excited about this emerging Esri community and expressed interest in sustaining these types of official gatherings. WeCan is aiming to be that network of people for women at Esri, while also continuing to engage with women in the larger GIS community. \u201cIf we can use our platform to empower other women outside Esri, we want to do everything we can to do that,\u201d said Manasevit.\r\n\r\nOther meetings and activities geared toward women have been held at previous Esri User Conferences. These events were led primarily by a group called Women in GIS, which held a special interest group meeting and a social this year. Both groups supported all three events.\r\n\r\nThis year marked the first time that a women-specific event came directly from Esri. This is important, said the WeCan organizers, not only because Esri is a leader in the GIS industry but also because it\u2019s something that potential hires are seeking.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe go to women-specific events for recruiting, and a lot of young women have started asking what resources Esri has available for women,\u201d explained Lenhardt. \u201cTwo years ago, I couldn\u2019t really say anything. But now, we have something that\u2019s organized and that people here care deeply about. And it\u2019s not going anywhere.\u201d\r\n\r\n[Since the Esri UC,\u00a0WeCan launched the Women's Geospatial Forum<\/a>, a\u00a0GeoNet group for women across all geospatial sectors to find information and resources, ask technical or professional questions, and engage in discussions with women and allies in the GIS industry.]<\/em>"}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nEmpowering Women\u2019s Voices at Esri and Beyond | Summer 2018 | ArcUser<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WeCan organization put on a panel on Women in GIS at Esri User Conference.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/empowering-womens-voices-at-esri-and-beyond\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Empowering Women\u2019s Voices at Esri and Beyond\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WeCan organization put on a panel on Women in GIS at Esri User Conference.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/empowering-womens-voices-at-esri-and-beyond\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-26T23:38:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ausum18_wecan_card.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/empowering-womens-voices-at-esri-and-beyond\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/empowering-womens-voices-at-esri-and-beyond\",\n\t \"name\": \"Empowering Women\u2019s Voices at Esri and Beyond | Summer 2018 | ArcUser\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2018-08-07T17:40:52+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2024-04-26T23:38:19+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"WeCan organization put on a panel on Women in GIS at Esri User Conference.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/empowering-womens-voices-at-esri-and-beyond#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/empowering-womens-voices-at-esri-and-beyond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/empowering-womens-voices-at-esri-and-beyond#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Empowering Women\u2019s Voices at Esri and Beyond\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/82e5143bcdebadf8fd64d84e503ca468\",\n\t \"name\": \"Monica Pratt\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2018\/08\/MonicaMug_agol2.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2018\/08\/MonicaMug_agol2.jpg\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Monica Pratt\"\n\t },\n\t \"description\": \"Monica Pratt is the founding and current editor of ArcUser magazine, the executive editor of ArcNews magazine, the editor of Esri Globe and head of the Publications team at Esri. 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