Great insights, people!
I admit, I have some issues w/ patience. As I've told some dear GC friends, if I don't have enough stress in my life, sometimes I go out and find some!
One of the things I've learned early on and has helped me out in the process is to read first and see which organizations are open to AI, and to what extent, and which are not. Some orgs are very open and gracious and welcoming to someone interested in AI--at least they are willing to hear these women out and give them a chance before saying "yes" or "no." Others are more reserved: they are open to the process, but will be politely direct and say that they do not practice it frequently--but they will still listen to you before deciding one way or the other. Still others are so closed off to the concept that they can't even wrap their minds around it. Fortunately, those groups are easy to spot. For PNAMs who are approaching GLOs, it's obviously best to avoid them.
Whatever a group's policy is, the AI trend is growing, not shrinking. The time is now to start thinking about policies regarding the process and clarifying them in public so everyone knows what they want and gets where they need to be!
Even though the waters are uncharted for me, I feel I'm on the right course and I've got everyone at GC to thank for it!
Adrienne (PNAM 2003)
