There’s an up and coming demographic within the spatial sciences industry that falls outside the typical norm.  Women are beginning to become more prevalent in the industry, yet little is known about their employment status and background.

So WIS, an initiative of the Spatial Sciences Institute, spent two years researching women’s employment characteristics, wages and education to snapshot where they stand today.

WIS provides support networks and professional development to women working in the industry.  The group looks at investigating ways to encourage women in their careers as spatial scientists, and informs peak industry bodies on the status of women in spatial industries.

The WIS forum this year will be held on Wednesday, 21 November in Sydney and NGIS’ Managing Director, Paul Farrell will be present to officially launch the report, which details the results of a WIS survey, conducted over the past two years.  The forum will be the first time these detaIls are publicly released.

Women working in all areas of the spatial sciences across Australia and New Zealand were interviewed as part of the survey, which collected primarily quantitative information such as entry to the profession, wages, and education pathways.

The report will also set the scene to interpret some of the key findings of the survey in light of related industry trends, documented in both Australian and international studies, and present more qualitative information collected at Women in Spatial forums conducted regionally.

The full day forum features guest speakers Gail Kelly, Michele Barson and Mary O’Kane.