Hi everyone! Amber here with this month’s women’s community update. Cait recently relocated back to her hometown of Buffalo, so you’ll be hearing from me a bit more until a new staff member joins our community. I would also love to hear from you if you have career advice, opinions or other content that can support this community!
Thank you to those who completed our “How can the Greene Center Support Women” survey! We gathered some great information to help us in planning our posts for the spring semester, as well as understanding what is top of mind for you! The survey is still open! Also keep an eye out for updates in January and February about some upcoming women’s events for the Spring semester!
December 1st was National Women Support Women Day, so for this month’s community blog we’re going to highlight resources, ideas and actions you can leverage to support other women around you. If you haven’t yet heard of Shine Theory, or the concept that “all ships rise”, it is effectively that by elevating and celebrating others, you will do better as well. In supporting other women, all women rise.
Women Helping Women at University of Rochester
There are so many great organizations and networks at the University of Rochester for women. Here are just a few!
Women’s Network (Alumni) – Women’s Network is a large alumni and student network that hosts events, meetups, webinars and more. They also have a group on The Meliora Collective. While the discussion board has been quite lately, you can use it to ask questions, post articles or ask for help! You can also search right within the groups membership to find women in various career fields to connect with for guidance and mentorship.
The Women’s Network (CCC) – New this year, TWN is a campus based organization focused on networking, professional development and career opportunities.
Women in Computing/Minorities in Computing – The UR Women and Minorities in Computing (WiC-MiC) aims to create a support network through mentorship, education, and resources for historically underrepresented minorities within the field of computer science including first-generation students, women, LGBTQIA+ students, and historically underrepresented racial groups, both at our institution and within the computer science community.
Society of Women Engineers (SWE) – The Society of Women Engineers is an organization that empowers women to succeed and advance in the field of engineering. Their aim is to build leadership skills, provide networking opportunities, and instill a strong sense of mutual support and community.
College Feminists – The purpose of the University of Rochester College Feminists is to educate the university community about feminist issues and to enhance the feminist community on campus by raising consciousness and awareness of intersectionality. it is also to establish a broad constituency of diverse students to work in pursuit of feminist ideals and to educate and take action on campus, local, state, national, and international feminist issues and concerns. Finally, their mission is to facilitate open and constructive discussion about feminist and human issues and to provide leadership and career building opportunities for our members.
Careers Supporting Women and Girls
There’s a wide variety of career paths that can focus on uplifting women and girls. A few are listed below, but there are entirely too many to list!
Girl’s Education and Empowerment: US-based and international organizations support the education and empowerment of girls through organizations like She’s the First, Girls who Code, Girls Inc. , and so many more. You can see a massive list of organizations (and their job postings) on Indeed.com.
Women’s Health: From reproductive health to public health to violence prevention, there are many ways to blend an interest in healthcare and gender equity. Scroll down to the list of career options at EduMed.org
Women’s Justice and Rights: From specialty law to government advocacy to global non-profits, there are many organizations and sectors promoting gender equity, justice and inclusion around the world. The real question might be not if, but which one?
Any other career field: With women making up over half of the earth’s population, you can support other women in any career field. There are organizations, affinity groups, mentoring opportunities, management opportunities and so much more in all fields to support women around the world.
Uplift women around you at school and in the workforce
Finally, you don’t have to be networking or defining your career options to support women around you.
6 Easy Ways Women Can Uplift Other Women at Work – Muse.com
Shanna Hocking shares a list of ways women can raise up those around them, and most of these ideas also work in the college environment!
Letting other women support you – Medium.com
Maria Molfino wrote this article in 2016, and it still remains relevant. Learn more about female competition and how to break social patterns to allow other women to support you (and ways you can support them as well!)
I’d love to hear your thoughts, and can be reached at amber.graham@rochester.edu
I hope you all have a wonderful winter break, and look forward to working with you in the spring semester!
