Can anyone reccomend a group in the Northern Virginia area for Women in Facilities Management? I'd like to become more socially/professionally active with my female peers, thanks.
Molly
Hi Molly,
If you haven't already, try checking with your local chapters of BOMA or IFMA. They might be able to point you to other FM groups in your area, including groups for women. And if there isn't one yet, maybe you could team up with some of your colleagues and get one started!
Another opportunity to network and get involved with local FM groups is at NFMT in Baltimore this March (and it's free to attend!). There's going to be a special educational session about women in facilities management. I'll be moderating the panel of 3-4 facilities professionals — all women, of course — who will be sharing their experiences in the FM community. Last year's session was so popular that we've lengthened the session this year to encourage discussion and questions at the end. Hope to see you there!
Lacey
Lacey,
Thanks for the reply. I have been a member in IFMA and BOMA in the past, but I was not aware of any Women's Groups at that time, I'll have to check again, as I just joined IFMA again. I attended NFMT, but I was not able to attend on the date of your session, although I woud have loved to. I did not see any handouts from your session on the NFMT website after the show, do you have anything you can email me?
thanks
Unfortunately, there was no formal presentation during the session — Power Point slides, for example — so there's nothing I can send you. We covered a variety of topics, including whether gender has posed any special challenges in FM, differences between the generations in the workforce, how to balance work with home life and what to do if you're just starting out in FM, among others.
Please feel free to start a new discussion topic in this group if you'd like to talk about any of those issues, or others. I really feel that if we get participation up in this group, we could have some very relevant and helpful conversations. Women definitely are interested, the session at NFMT proved that!
Thanks for helping this group along!