At the beginning of March, we highlighted the Women in GIS map, a crowd-sourced project that enables women who work or study in GIS to add their name, position and location to a worldwide map. The project had a successful month: over 4,000 women from all over the world contributed.
The map’s creator, Dr. Linda Loubert of Morgan State University, explained why she spearheaded this effort:
“I wanted the public to know that there are women doing amazing things with the technology that GIS provides.”
Dr. Loubert also wanted to convey the interdisciplinary nature of the field, a fact that’s clear on the version below. In this layout, the viewer can toggle between different layers according to category of GIS job: education, business, non-profits, government and students and women who previously worked in GIS.
With layer 4 highlighted, for example, we can see how many women in GIS work in a government position. Click the photo to enlarge. Image source: ESRI
It’s also interesting to see that GIS endeavors are undertaken around the globe. For example, one participant lists herself as a Program Development Specialist working for the USAID in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Click to enlarge. Image source: ESRI
Dr. Loubert is pleased that the map will live on as a story map on ESRI’s site. She hopes that it will serve as an inspiration for women now and in the future to become involved in this dynamic field.