Dear CWN, 

Thank you to all who participated at our CWN Surveillance Testing Event on June 21st! It was wonderful seeing folks off-screen and partner with University Health Services as our community prepares for a return to campus this Fall. 

Like many, we wonder what the "new normal" will look and feel like in the context of shared space and community. Will it be refreshing, exhausting, familiar? What aspects of the past pandemic year+ will we take with us? What will we leave behind...besides our slippers? Beyond working from home, in what ways have we changed in light of the national racial reckoning? As we transition away - at least in part - from the Zoom screen, how can we prepare ourselves to be present, inclusive, and to extend (and ask for) grace as we navigate change? 

A couple of easy ways to support inclusion in professional spaces: 

• Adding pronouns alongside your name, such as in the campus directory (in parentheses after your last name; see example), LinkedIn page, email signature, Zoom name, etc. Learn more about why pronouns matter at mypronoungs.org.

• Adding your name pronunciation to your email signature or LinkedIn profile.

While we don't have all of the answers right now, we wanted to take a moment and set an intention for our network this academic year: that we continue to cultivate a strong sense of community among professional womxn at Cal and that we lean into opportunities where we can grow together - be it remote, in-person, or some hybrid of the two. 

- The CWN Steering Committee

Thank you to those who responded to our survey! As we review responses in more detail, we wanted to share out some of our initial learnings: 

• We overwhelmingly voted to hold upcoming events over Zoom around lunch (11:30am - 1:30pm).

• "Career advancement for womxn" and "Womxn in leadership" rose to the top as future event topics, followed by "Mentorship/coaching", "Wellness", "Navigating campus/networking", "Work/life balance" and "Advocacy & allyship for intersectional identities". 

• 72% of respondents are interested in participating in a CWN mentorship program. More information on our pilot program this fall will be shared at our July 28th session (see below)! 

• 56% of respondents preferred the name 'Cal Womxn's Network'. We see this as an invitation to dive into the nuances of this topic further, recognizing that this is a slim majority among those who responded. For consistency across our platforms and marketing, we will move forward with Cal Womxn's Network and have amended the statement on our website to: "Womxn defined as a woman (used, especially in intersectional feminism, as an alternative spelling to avoid the suggestion of sexism perceived in the sequences m-a-n and m-e-n)". 

We value the detailed, open-ended feedback the survey enabled us to collect, and look forward to actively discussing and incorporating your suggestions, goals, and perspectives in all aspects of CWN's programming, communications, and leadership. Thank you for your time, openness, and partnership at this stage of our journey! 

Fidelity Financial Series

Whether you're just starting our or nearing retirement, the Women and Investing: Organize, Plan, Own Your Future class offers simple steps you can take to achieve your financial goals. 

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

Whether you’re just starting out or nearing retirement, this class helps you learn simple steps you can take to achieve your financial goals. It also includes ways to build healthy financial habits, save for multiple goals, and invest wisely, so that you can take control of your financial future.
 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Women who prefer to learn in a class designed specifically for women, addressing common challenges and creating an environment that builds confidence.

Fidelity Financial Series

An adapted version of Fundamentals of Retirement Income Planning, class can help you learn how to determine when retirement is feasible based on projected savings and expected financial challenges down the road. 

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

This class can help you learn how to determine when retirement is feasible based on projected savings and expected financial challenges in retirement. It also covers estimating how long savings may last with a solid retirement income plan.
 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Those who are thinking about retirement and would like to learn how to develop a retirement income plan that tracks income and expenses through retirement.

Fidelity Financial Series

This class can help you get a handle on spending and borrowing so you can start building your future. 

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

This class offers manageable strategies and tools that can help you get a handle on spending and borrowing. It also covers how to develop a smart budget and ways to manage debt.
 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Those who want to build healthy spending and saving habits to improve their current financial situation.

• Employee Assistance - no-cost, confidential counseling.
• Staff Ombuds - for problems big and small.
• Career Coaching - 1:1 sessions to get ready for that next opportunity.