Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Who We Are

We are a workgroup within the geospatial community that believes in an environment where all are welcome, people can be their true authentic self, and will have their voices understood and valued. We strive to connect with as many people as possible and offer a chair at the table in order for our geospatial community to reflect the diversity of the world we live in. Just as a map is incomplete without a title, a compass, a legend, and a scale, the geospatial community is incomplete without inclusion, representation, and open-minded thinking.  Look for us at WLIA events, including the Annual Conference and Regional Meetings, and the WLIA Slack Workspace (#4_dei_public).

To subscribe, simply send an email by clicking the link below.

Our Mission

Our mission is to lead efforts in building equity, representation, and inclusion inside the geospatial community through education, mentorship, and advocacy.

Goals:
  1. Encourage our professional organizations and councils to adopt inclusive language in their code of ethics, mission statements, and goals.
  2. Encourage more questions about diversity in surveys that are intended to gather information about people in our profession to provide better metrics to identify opportunities to engage under-represented communities.
  3. Encourage organizers of workshops, seminars, and conferences to review the event code of ethics language, provide pronoun stickers, and provide accessible content for their events.
  4. To nominate people from under-represented communities for professional awards.
  5. To develop an online resource for sharing information on diversity and inclusion.
  6. Encourage use of geospatial data, technology, and theory to foster a more equitable, representative and inclusive community.

Get Involved

  • EDGE Geospatial Ethnically Diverse Geospatial Engagement
  • Women in GIS Helping women navigate their GIS careers (all genders welcome.)
  • Women in Geospatial+ A professional network to promote gender equality in the geospatial industry and academia