Photo By Chief Petty Officer Katarzyna Kobiljak | 151026-N-YW024-087 PEARL HARBOR (Oct. 26, 2015) A panelist U.S. Pacific Fleet Force...... read more read more
Subscribe
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me,” U.S. Pacific Fleet Force Master Chief Suz Whitman quoted Ayn Rand, an American novelist and playwright, during the 2015 Hawaii Women’s Symposium at Ford Island Conference Center in Pearl Harbor.
The theme of the symposium was "Progress and Possibilities: Embrace Our Future Now" and included interactive leadership panels, uniform brief with “do’s and don’ts” fashion show, networking lunch and speed mentoring.
“I think symposiums are a great tool, not only to bring females together but to bring males together and other services as well,” said Whitman. “To see what we all have gone through and where we are headed.”
Whitman was one of the six members of a leadership panel where she answered many questions from the audience. Questions ranged from how to balance life between being a military member and being a parent to how to choose between right assignments and whether or not to stay in the Navy.
“For me personally, it’s a motivation to see so many females and males attending,” Chief Cryptologic Technician (Collection) Virginia Sanders, assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88), also a panelist.
Sanders said this symposium is important because it gives everyone a chance to see other people going through the same issues and struggles. It hits you when someone else starts to talk about his or her problems.
“Then you see you are not alone,” Sanders said.
When asked about what drives her in her professional life, Sanders said, “On my previous ship, I worked with a senior chief who was EN (Engineman) and she told me a story about the time when she first came to the Navy, and certain rates just opened up to women. Senior chief told me men would make her work in a pit with a coverall tied around her waist so they could look at her because she was a woman.”
She also said the thought of women before her, who dealt with equality issues and quality work always motivates her.
“How do I dare to be here, in this place in vain?” Sanders asked. “There are women who came before me and had it so much worse. Thanks to them, I don’t have to deal with such issues.”
| Date Taken: | 10.28.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.28.2015 22:14 |
| Story ID: | 180253 |
| Location: | PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 112 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 'The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.' – Ayn Rand, by CPO Katarzyna Kobiljak, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
