U.S. has taken on the global leadership of Women in Geothermal (WING)
Women in Geothermal (WING) Website - screenshot
Alexander Richter
18 May 2020
Women in Geothermal (WING), a global NGO promoting the education, professional development, and advancement of women in the geothermal community, has transitioned its global leadership to the United States.
At the Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting in Las Vegas in 2013, 80 women and men met to kick off an organization focused on the empowerment of women. Led by Andy Blair from New Zealand (who became the first Global Chair), Women in Geothermal (WING) was born. Thereafter, the NZ Global Team built a powerful movement for gender equality in the geothermal industry. With more than 1,600 members worldwide, WING is now the largest geothermal association in the world.
Launching WING’s first roadmap in 2015, the NZ team set goals to connect members, inform the geothermal community and advance women in the industry. Since then, they have led efforts to increase the number of women on industry boards (the International Geothermal Association board is now >50% women!), develop the UN-sponsored WINGman Special Taskforce (a workshop to help men recognize and address gender diversity issues in the workplace), establish WING teams in more than 25 countries and initiate the WING Future Leaders Forum, which mentors women to become tomorrow’s leaders.
As a global entity, WING is focused on the need to evolve, stay relevant, and bring value to its members. Rotating the global management of WING to different countries enables different social, political and business cultures to shape WING’s future. After vetting bids from various countries to be the next Global WING Team, previous Global Chair Andy Blair said “I am excited to hand over the chair of the organization for the next 3 years to an energetic and talented group of women and men in the United States.”
The new US-based WING Global team is busy preparing the new roadmap, setting objectives for the organization during their 3-year tenure, which will conclude at the World Geothermal Congress in China (planned for 2023). While continuing to focus on connecting its members and increasing WING’s membership and visibility, the updated roadmap includes initiatives to mobilize more members to actively participate in WING opportunities, ensuring that WING is a sustainable force into the future. “It has been inspiring to plan the next era of WING,” says Ann Robertson-Tait, the new WING Global Chair. “We have been working closely with the New Zealand team to define the future path of the organization. WING has come a long way in the short time since its formation, and we have developed exciting plans for its future!”
Describing his role on the WING Global Team, current Global Team member, Andrew Tiedeman, says “We are striving to increase active participation and drive enrollment of WINGmen; encouraging and enabling more men to lead and effect real change. I am looking forward to realizing that goal.” WING has a goal of 50% male membership, currently at 25%.
The structure of WING is based on local presence and global connection. The WING Global Team, which now sits within the United States, is responsible for the management and operation of the organization. WING Global Team members include: Ann Robertson-Tait (Global Chair), Kelly Blake (Global Executive), Mary Mann (US Ambassador), Bridget Ayling, Karen Christopherson, Cary Lindsey, Caity Smith, Andrew Tiedeman, and Kate Young.
About Women in Geothermal (WING)
WING is a volunteer non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the education, professional development, and advancement of women in the geothermal community. The ultimate goal is to eventually become redundant, when no group needs to advocate for gender equality. Membership is free and anyone can join at www.womeningeothermal.com. For more information, connect with WING on Facebook and LinkedIn, and follow @WING_geothermal on Twitter.
We congratulate our good friends in the U.S. for taking on the responsibility for this fantastic and important group of passionate, engaged and ambitious women and men for our global geothermal energy community. … and naturally thanks to the great leadership of Andy Blair and her team for starting off on this journey.
