It’s the afternoon of July 4th – Independence Day in the United States – and many of you are enjoying bar-be-ques, special family time, and fireworks. Along with all of that, I find myself reflecting on the founders of America’s original colonies, as well as the three founders of Women in Localization: Anna, Eva, and Silvia.
What began as a small, professional get-together for women in the localization industry in 2008, has now blossomed into a global organization with 11 Chapters and 3,000 members worldwide. While our progress has been steady and strategic, we still have a long way to go to accomplish our goals.
Here a few of our collective accomplishments since my Q1 update in March:
- Held our mid-year face-to-face Board Meeting in early June. Each Board Member reported on her respective Executive Committee, including goal attainment and H2 plans.
- Spun off a special interest committee dedicated to pursuing Non-Profit 501(c)3 status. Much more to follow on this exciting topic in the months to come!
- Collaborated with Common Sense Advisory on their largest, most complex research project to date. The results of the “Gender and Family Research” survey were released in June and can be downloaded here: http://www.commonsenseadvisory.com/gender.aspx
While women in the localization industry may fare somewhat better than their peers in other industries in terms of pay, roles and titles, and job flexibility, the research found that most women in our industry continue to hold jobs in non-management positions. Women in Localization remains dedicated to exploring this and raising ongoing awareness to help employers address this.
- Solidified a strategic partnership with LocWorld, with an enthusiastic presence at LocWorld in Barcelona. Thank you again to Ulrich Henes and the LocWorld team for the donation of the booth space and for the panel discussion.
- Launched a new Chapter in The Netherlands, which held their very first event a few weeks ago with approximately 25 people in attendance.
- Revitalized our Chapters in Germany and Ireland, with new local leadership and a calendar of upcoming events.
- Evaluated new technology, including a database to house our membership and support member email communications. This is being initially piloted by the Silicon Valley Chapter, and will be eventually rolled-out worldwide. (If you have expertise in this area, we could use your help. Please contact me if interested.)
- Selected a color palette called “Sunshine” for our new branding, which will be unveiled in the coming months. The palette includes a warm mixture of orange, beiges, fushias, and yellow. You’re gonna love it!
- Created a new, standard Introduction presentation that Chapter Managers will share at local Chapter events. I look forward to sharing this on the upcoming Chapter Manager call in early August.
- Increased our global membership by approx. 35% and our Twitter following by 30% over 2016.
Together, we continue to move this incredible organization forward, and I know for certain that our founders are so proud. As an all-volunteer organization, I am consistently in awe of the passion, time, and energy that you bring to Women in Localization as you balance work, family, travel, and everything else.
As this year’s Chair of Women in Localization, it’s hard to believe that we are at the mid-point of 2017 – I feel like I’m just getting started!
Thank you for being so amazing!
Allison