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Fall 2022 WAM Meeting Recap
The Advancement of Women in Data Centers
On Wednesday, December 7, the Women in Mission Critical Operations community held a WiMCO Alignment Meeting (WAM) via Zoom. Over 80 women and men attended the free session where Nancy Novak, Chief Innovation Officer at Compass Datacenters, discussed ways for women to advance in the mission critical industry. The session was moderated by Cara Toneys, Facilities Manager at Google.
Throughout the presentation, Nancy described various challenges that women face in achieving equality and advancement particularly at higher levels of male-dominated organizations. For each challenge, she shared a story about how she was able to overcome a particular situation.
Overall, the discussion focused on being as collaborative as possible, having fun, and being curious. When working in a male-dominated environment, women will need to be more assertive, ask to participate in presentations, offsite visits, training, and more. At the end of the session, the group talked about the importance of mentoring and role models.
The session closed with WiMCO Chair Juli Ierulli, Global eCommerce Growth Manager – Electric Power Division, Caterpillar, Inc., and Vice President, 7×24 Exchange International, sharing upcoming WiMCO events, resources and contacts.
