CWN affirms a campus community where women* are empowered to pursue and achieve their professional and personal goals. *All who experience life through the lens of a woman in body, spirit, identity - past, present, future, and fluid. We encourage you to share ideas, events, and campus job postings with us anytime via email.
Hoping your 2023 is off to a great start!
“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”—Oprah
Over the past year, like many of you, CWN steering committee members have balanced their professional and personal lives. This year, we are revisiting our mission and values to revive the new year with consistent communications and more opportunities for our members to engage.
We are looking forward to celebrating International Women’s Day at the beginning of March with professional headshots and a social event. We are also planning a professional development panel discussion on Women@Work with an emphasis on the data and experience of women here at Cal. Look for more details soon!
Lastly, in our recommitment to CWN, the steering committee would love to hear more from everyone in the network about what programming resonates with you and what concerns we can escalate and bring to leadership. A survey will be sent out in the next month and we encourage you to let us know your thoughts and make recommendations.
Claudia Gey joined the Making Connections Program in our Pilot cycle and had such a great experience that she then joined the sub-committee to plan the second cycle. She has been an invaluable member of the planning crew and has brought positive energy and great insights. We are grateful for her willingness to kick off our 2023 member spotlight!
Full name:
Claudia Gey (she/her/hers)
Your role at Cal:
I am the Program Manager for the Institute of International Studies and the Center on the Politics of Development. As part of this role, I develop/operate programs centered around (under)graduate student leadership and career development, manage events and build an internationally focused community at and beyond UC Berkeley.
Who are women who inspire or empower you (personally and/or professionally)?
Over the course of my life/career, there were many women who inspired and encouraged me to live in alignment with my values and create a path that is meaningful. When I was a Women's Studies scholar in Berlin, Germany, Audre Lorde was amongst the first who helped me understand that the fight against sexism has to go hand in hand with anti-racism because nobody will be truly free in a white supremacist society. She inspires me to have the courage to speak up for what is right, especially when the stakes are high, and be a change agent for equity, belonging and justice. Hannah Arendt reminds me that the world is a complex place and that I must hold myself and others accountable to allow for our beliefs to be challenged, and engage in dialogue with opposing views because we are capable of doing so. My former boss, Sherry, taught me to pick my battles wisely and that silliness and play are as essential to a healthy workplace as a functional leadership and culture. Last but not least, my mom is my hero because of her endless ability for compassion for any two and four-legged creatures, no matter who they are or where they roam around.
What was your biggest takeaway from Making Connections?
The program is a fantastic way to connect with colleagues across campus and get insights into various departments via their experiences. It's also a great way to create a culture of learning and peer-coaching, and tap into the vast world of opportunities at UC Berkeley. For me personally, the program has been a breath of fresh air after coming to UC Berkeley during the pandemic and struggling with feeling disconnected from colleagues and the university overall. Making Connections truly delivered in helping me feel part of this community and I joined the planning committee to help further promote and grow this great program.
Another takeaway is that the CWN and Making Connections are great platforms for community building and making things happen. For example, in collaboration with Lisa Rykert from People & Org. Development, I organize an event series focused on "strategies for professional community building and upward mobility for UC Berkeley staff from underrepresented communities." Last November we partnered with the CWN and Making Connections on the second event of the series, focused on women/female identified staff, attended by 150+ staff across UC campuses. We are grateful to the CWN for promoting and hosting the conversation. Please look out for the announcement of the third event titled “When your identity is inherently “unprofessional”: Navigating dominant culture definitions of professionalism for UC Berkeley LGBTQ+ staff” that is planned for the second half of March.
What is one piece of advice that you've been given that has stuck with you?
You do you, because there is nobody else who does that better!
Friday, January 27: The Making Connections Program is hosting a networking meeting for participants. Non-participants are welcome to join. Please check out the meeting information on the CWN calendar.
Wednesday, February 15: BSA Programs & Events Committee is excited to bring to you a virtual fair for all communities of practice, identity-based staff organizations, and other staff groups on campus. CWN is participating and we would love to see you there! Virtual Event on Zoom - Register here (registration required).
Wednesday, March 8: CWN is looking forward to celebrating International Women’s Day with our community. We will be hosting a professional headshot and networking event - more details to come!
Working at a university means working with a broad range of jobs around campus. To help us branch out, learn more about different roles, and meet others in the UC Berkeley community, CWN is hosting a virtual panel to explore different jobs and career paths, by talking to the women who work at Cal. Would you be willing to participate as a panelist? We want to feature a diverse group of staff who represent a variety of career options - trades, paraprofessional, encore (post retirement), professional and academic staff.
We acknowledge the correlation between race, class, socio-economic status and the employment roles that we occupy as University employees. It is with intention that we uplift positionality, and the range of factors that contribute to who may fill what role. For this panel, we are aiming to highlight all types of roles from all around campus. CWN recognizes that we are one community, understanding that no position is better than another, and valuing that none of us could do our jobs without every role being filled.
Please email us by Friday, February 3, 2023 to be considered yourself or to nominate someone for the panel.
Friendly reminder: Berkeley Staff Assembly is still accepting nominations for the 2023 Excellence in Management (EIM) Awards. The nomination deadline is Tuesday, February 21, 2023. These awards honor exemplary managers and supervisors who have led their teams and team members to meaningful accomplishments this past year.
This year’s EIM Awards theme is, “Everyday Hero: Leading the Path to Excellence.” This highlights leaders who demonstrate and encourage mentorship, dignity, respect, and belonging. Please visit the BSA EIM website for more information.
This year, we are trying something new to highlight jobs around Cal. Instead of an email, we will be maintaining a CWN Google Doc with all the job listings that are sent to us. Please bookmark the link and check it whenever, as we will be updating it constantly. As always, please send us jobs that you’d like shared with the CWN community so we can include them!
We want to hear from you!
Please submit an upcoming event, job posting, or resource you would like featured in CWN's next newsletter.
Managers & supervisors: Please print and post a copy of this newsletter for any staff who don't have access to email.
General questions or CWN event ideas? Reach out to our leadership board at calwomxn@berkeley.edu.
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