The Conscious Conversations series began in 2014 as an effort to engage women faculty and staff from across campus in facilitated, yet informal, conversations around timely topics of interest. Bring your lunch and join us via Zoom!

Navigating a Changing Workplace: Tech Optimism v. Tech Fatigue

Technology promises efficiency, flexibility, and innovation, but it can also bring overwhelm, burnout, and constant change. As workplaces rapidly adopt new tools and systems, women often experience these shifts in distinct ways, shaped by inequities in workload, expectations around availability, emotional labor, caregiving responsibilities, and access to decision-making power. This Conscious Conversation invites participants to reflect on where optimism and fatigue coexist, explore the gendered realities of workplace technology, and imagine more equitable and sustainable ways of working together.

Tuesday, February 24
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. 
Virtual Event via Zoom

Medical Gaslighting and Navigating Care

Thursday, April 16, 2026
12:00 p.m. - 1 p.m.
Virtual Event via Zoom

Conscious Conversations, launched in 2014, provides women across campus with a space for facilitated yet informal discussions on topics of shared relevance and those related to women and gender equity. These Conversations serve multiple purposes: fostering community connections or sparking significant advocacy efforts, such as the most recent Family Leave Task Force. The Conversations offer a casual interactive environment for discussion with no formal presentation or agenda. They also offer a flexible, low-commitment way to engage with the Commission - whether by leading a relaxed discussion on a specific topic or simply listening in and sharing thoughts as part of the discussion.

Guidelines for a Conscious Conversation:

1. Be present.
2. Fully listen, meaning to hear what another is saying, not just in anticipation of your response.
3. Honor each other’s humanness and the input they provide to the discussion. 
4. Allow space for honest expression for the purpose of understanding. 
5. Leave assumptions and agendas at the door in order to keep an open mind and the potential to learn something through the experience of another.
6. Asking questions at an appropriate time for clarification or to deepen insights.
7. Practice long pauses between questions and answers to allow for deep thinking and the conversation to evolve more organically.
8. Take care of yourself, for how you are feeling about the topic or if your involvement led to an outcomes that requires attention.

Suggestions for topics are always welcome. If you have passion for a topic that you would like to crowdsource from among the Women's Commission community, please submit it to us by email!

Navigating Change in Work and Life

Engaging Men in Feminist Work

Re-Engaging After Leave

Elder Care

Inclusive Design

Teach-In Takeaways

Raising Feminist Kids

Restorative Practices

Expecting Better: Establishing Family Friendly Workplaces

Race and Gender in Orange is the New Black

Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Raising Smart, Confident, Independent Girls in the Princess Culture

Moving Beyond the B-Word: Bold, Blunt, Bossy Women in the Workplace

We're Our Own Worst Enemies: Judgment and Competition Among Women

International Advocacy and Experiences of GVSU Women