Breakfast offers networking for women, men, and students

By Jenny Kucera, associate editor TLE

Like most geoscientists, Marcia McNutt followed her passion.  Her affinity for science has led her to serve as chief scientist on numerous major oceanographic expeditions, and brought her back to shore where she currently serves as the first woman director of the U.S. Geological Survey.

McNutt presented the keynote address at the Women's Network Committee Breakfast on Wednesday morning of the SEG Annual Meeting. Her topic—building a career in science—was filled with examples of how she achieved both a successful career and the balance between work and life.

Graduate school teaches students the basics of how to conduct experiments, make field observations, and document results. But what is missing in education are the lessons of ethics, protecting one's reputation, and doing what counts.

"Your reputation is the most important possession you have.  You'll spend your entire career building it or rebuilding it," McNutt said.

McNutt stressed the importance of finding mentors along the way.

"A mentor is a personal relationship, one built on trust. Mentors should not be in your chain of command, because that would hinder discussion of sensitive issues that might negatively affect your promotion," she said.

McNutt also spoke to the topic of the breakfast—how to develop and manage the balance between work and life.  She shared stories of how she worked and raised a family at the same time.

The latter part of the event included thoughtful roundtable discussions.  Conversations focused on women in geophysics, their experience, and barriers. Attendees answered the questions of "which aspects of being a geophysicist keep women motivated about their career?" and "are these drivers different for men?"  The discussions were lively because men were included in the conversation about achieving a work-life balance, which provided perspectives from both sides. Students were recruited to serve as leaders of the discussions at each table and report back to the group as a whole.

The consensus was that the same characteristics of the profession lure both women and men. Being a geophysicist offers international travel, a changing work environment, constant learning, and a chance to apply science to make a difference in the world around you. Geophysicists in general enjoy physics, the outdoors, exploration of the Earth, and coming up with those "a-ha" moments.

The Women's Network Committee works to promote greater participation and leadership of women in geophysics worldwide. It also promotes greater female engagement in SEG activities on a local, regional, and global scale.

This is the second year for the Women's Network Breakfast to be offered at the Annual Meeting.  Thanks to the sponsors (ExxonMobil, Chevron, Statoil, and Anadarko, and Fugro) for making this event possible.  Nearly 90 attended the breakfast, and a fair number of men and students were part of the crowd.