Who are Women in Dataviz?
Mission, Vision, and Values
Women in Dataviz is a community of individuals who who are passionate about data visualization. We’re women and people who have felt othered based on our gender identity or gender expression. We welcome professional practitioners, students, and enthusiasts at all stages of life and career into our community. We aim to surround our members with a supportive network of peers, mentors, and friends who see and value them for who they are, with the ultimate goal of increasing gender diversity and equity in technology and the world.
Code of Conduct
In order to participate in our Slack workspace and community events, members must read our Community Code of Conduct and acknowledge their agreement to abide by it.
If you have feedback on how we can further improve either the mission statement or code of conduct, please send it along to womenindataviz@gmail.com.
History
Right before Tableau Conference in May of 2021, Nicole Mark (that’s me, writing right now!)… I launched the Women in Dataviz Discord Server. I had been participating in a few different data-related online communities, but I still longed for something specifically about data visualization, specifically for individuals identifying as women. So I went about creating it.
My intention was to create a tool-agnostic and inclusive space for women in data visualization, including developers, students, enthusiasts, and everyone in between, to network, share feedback, exchange tips and tricks, and socialize with one another.
The timing was good. We gathered a couple dozen members right away, but I figured it would soon either fizzle out or the thirty or so of us would add a few people here and there. By September 2022, we had over 100 members!
Along the way, I’ve collaborated with new people and made new friends. In co-moderator Allison Wright, I’ve found a real one, as she’d say — a true friend, kind, supportive, funny, and always down to help out with whatever hare-brained scheme I may have come up with this time. (Women in Dataviz Conference 2024 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!)
In October 2022, we moved the community from Discord to Slack to make it easier for more people to participate in a tool they were more familiar with. We've been growing ever since, with more than 260 members as of July 1, 2023.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to member Elisa Davis for helping to ensure that the language of our mission statement is as inclusive as we wanted it to be. Many thanks to Slack co-moderator Allison Wright and member Christina Gorga for their feedback and suggestions regarding the Community Code of Conduct, which was largely modeled after the Tech Ladies Code of Conduct.
A few individuals, while they don’t participate in an “official” leadership capacity, make significant enough contributions to our community for me to acknowledge their efforts and energy here:
Cranky Aunt of Dataviz and Tableau Visionary (Hall of Fame) Bridget Cogley. She was the first human I met with the title Chief Visualization Officer, and she inspires me to work smarter and more compassionately all the time. You should read her book, Functional Aesthetics for Data Visualization, co-authored with Vidya Setlur, Head of Research at Tableau.
Kate Brown, for always bringing the encouraging vibes to every Slack channel she meets.
Iron Viz 2023 finalist, hoarder of color palettes, and bringer-of-the-best-YouTube-videos-to-celebrate Fridays, Brittany Rosenau.
The Data Babes. You know who you are.
