Viewpoint: Bringing Women Back to Pro AV
Passion needs an outlet, otherwise it is extinguished. Gripping tightly to faith that things will change is simply a dream unless action accompanies faith. It’s hard to believe that about a year ago, a passionate group of women launched the Women in AV/IT (WAVIT) 501c3 organization.
[Viewpoint: 5 Ways to Develop Business in the New Year]
If you look at the demographics of the AV and IT industries, they have historically been, unrelentingly even, mostly men. During the pandemic, the estimated breakdown of the AV industry decreased from 14% women to 11% women, according to AVIXA.
Now, 14% was already a small number, one that hadn’t grown significantly in years. To lose 21% of the women from our industry seemed unbelievable, and yet, completely plausible. I won’t go into all the reasons women may have left the industry and workforce; that’s been covered by our industry and media outlets globally. However, it left us wondering: How do we rebuild? More than that, how do we accelerate the rebuild?
WAVIT 's founding message was strong: We will place a major emphasis on education, mentorship, and establishing career pathways for retaining women in the industry, as well as creating new pathways for young women to enter. Creating partner alliances with other trade associations, organizations, and media companies that bring opportunities for women to be championed and recognized for their strengths is what WAVIT is all about.
[International Women's Day: Building Careers in Pro AV]
As it's been said many times about diversification, individuals want to see themselves reflected. As much as people want to be unique, they also want to be in an organization or industry that is accepting, relevant, and relatable. There is opportunity, no matter where one is in their career, to help modify the culture of the industry. Our priorities have to be solidified and linked: education, empowerment, diversification.
Progress Report
One year in, the organization is actively growing. Our biggest challenge is leveraging the bandwidth of our members. We are well aware that just a few passionate individuals cannot take on all of the required work.
WAVIT’s foundational pillars of empowerment, education, and outreach have translated into a number of committees that each have a charter and priority tasks to strategically move forward. We have committee chairs that are committed to ensuring that their groups meet regularly—and that outcomes are in line with organizational goals. The organization continues to grow, and our committees need volunteers now more than ever.
Some opportunities to volunteer include the sponsorship committee, membership committee, outreach committee, programming and events committee, safety committee, diversity committee, wellness committee, and marketing committee. Additionally, we have developed strategic alliances with affiliated organizations like the Women of Digital Signage, #GALSNGEAR, Women in Consumer Technology, and HETMA, among others.
We are working with companies like American Music and Sound to develop an internship program for young women and incorporating mentorship as a key part of the internship experience, with the hope of retaining these women in the industry after the internship concludes. We've also created specialized relationships with Pace University to support their new minor in AV technology.
We can surely make an effort to take a fraction of the struggle off incoming women at the beginning of their careers or give them tools that we didn’t have.
There’s more: We launched a WAVIT job board for AV/IT companies and related markets to leverage and diversify their applicant pool. Further, we have created a speaker’s bureau for WAVIT women, which media and event partners can access to help connect female subject matter experts with opportunities for exposure. Plus, we’ve secured a monthly segment, written by our members on topics of their choice, in a major trade publication. And we’ve exceeded our 2023 sponsorship goals, because this industry values the mission of our organization and wants to support our activities, as well as the overall impact WAVIT will continue to make on gender diversity.
Looking Forward
Even with all that, so much of what WAVIT has been working on is behind the scenes. The board made a very deliberate decision to create foundation and structure first—to have the resources and blocks in place for our committees, volunteers, sponsors, supporters, and affiliates to support the mission with intentional action. We promise, there is so much more to come, which will be revealed later this year with deliberate steps and well-defined goals.
In speaking with industry peers about the WAVIT initiatives, one woman said that she had no interest in volunteering time or being involved because she “had to fight hard for every step [she] made in the industry, and believes it made her a better professional and stronger leader. Others should and could do it, too.” I walked away from that conversation deeply saddened.
The women in the AV and IT industries struggle, yes. And it makes them great leaders and incredible professionals. But imagine how much further women can go if we just lift each other up.
We can surely make an effort to take a fraction of the struggle off incoming women at the beginning of their careers or give them tools that we didn’t have. Ultimately this gives them strength to hit new milestones for us all. Believe me, we aren’t eliminating the struggle that women in STEM experience any time soon—there are many opportunities for women to become strong professionals and leaders in these industries.
Think about it: Those women we help are more likely to help others achieve more. That is how we accelerate our growth. Diversity means strength, strength for our companies and our industries. If we struggle to diversify, our industry is less relevant, less innovative, and less able to weather storms. Shouldn’t this be a priority?
