Despite the widespread number of women working in libraries today many of us, particularly women of color, regularly experience instances where our contributions/ suggestions are undermined when at work. As per conversations with Latinx women librarians, these experiences have increased during the past four years when the political fabric of the country has been under unusual strain bringing to light unprecedented racism, bigotry, sexism, discrimination, homophobia, and xenophobia.

This pre-conference, within the themes of deep diversity and intersectionality to be presented by ALA Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) and its Chair, Loida Garcia-Febo, seeks to affect change! and better understand factors that contribute to undermining/undervaluing Latinx women in the library workplace and identifying strategies and actions that can be used to make the library workplace an environment where women’s contributions are valued.

Three Learning Outcomes:

Attendees will gain an understanding of factors that are currently contributing to undermining/ undervaluing Latinx women in the library workplace across the nation so they can analyze these with their coworkers at their home libraries.
Attendees will identify strategies that can be used to make the library workplace an environment where women’s contributions are valued so they can bring back these to their home libraries for further conversations and action.
Attendees will leave the event with a crowdsourced list of actions they can take to move forward actions to support Latinx women at their home libraries.
Moderator of the event: Loida Garcia-Febo, International Library Consultant and Chair of ALA’s Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship.

Interview with Zoe Mendelson and Maria Conejo
Loda Garcia-Febo interviews Zoe Mendelson and Maria Conejo, authors of PussyPedia

Microaggressions and Workplace Stress/Harrassment
Interactive session about microaggressions and workplace stress and harassment with 15 minutes Q&A.
Speakers: Pambanisha Whaley, Chippewa Thomas, and Jaena Alabi.

Interview with Alicia Monsalve, author of Inficciones
Loida Garcia-Febo interviews Alicia Monsalve, author of Inficciones, a book of women stories during the pandemic.

Conversation about Women Empowerment
Panel conversation about women empowerment with 15 minutes Q&A.
Speakers: Mille Gonzalez, Nichelle Hayes, Madeline Pena, Celia Avila, and Michele Villagran

Summary
A collective compilation of outcomes from the panel conversation and interactive session to create an actionable list of resources librarians can consult or/and practice for empowerment.

Presenter: Dr. Michele Villagran
Date: Thursday, November 4, 2021
Time: 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (Pacific Time)
Location: https://www.reformaconference.org/schedule