The Women’s Power League of Alaska

PHOTO BY MATT WALISZEK

The Women’s Power League of Alaska fosters careers and community

By Maisie Thomas

Alaska leads the United States in several statistical measures; Alaskans take pride in living in the largest state in the nation, which is home to the tallest peak in North America, Denali. Alaska also boasts the highest percentage of women entrepreneurs in the country. But the state ranks first in less favorable measurements as well. Unfortunately, Alaska has one of the largest gender wage gaps in the country. According to a 2019 report by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, women make 72 cents to a man’s dollar. This can be explained in part by the fact that Alaska’s economy is dominated by historically male industries such as oil and gas and construction. Yet Alaskan women earn less than men even in female-dominated fields.

While these findings are disheartening, Alaskan women can take comfort in knowing that organizations such as the Women’s Power League of Alaska (WPLAK) are working toward equality. Though a relatively new organization, WPLAK is already making a big impact on the lives of Alaskan women. Founded in January of 2019, WPLAK seeks to empower women both socially and economically. Central to this mission is networking: WPLAK connects successful Alaskan career women with aspiring professionals through mentorship programs and career development workshops. The goal, in the words of WPLAK Founder and CEO Kimberly Waller, is to “pull up and pull in” the next generation of Alaskan women. While much of WPLAK’s mission is focused on helping women achieve their career goals, the organization extends beyond the purely professional realm. In uniting women through female-only conversations and forums, WPLAK builds unity and sisterhood. Ultimately, according to Waller, empowering women will lead to a stronger Alaska.

KIMBERLY WALLER: FROM MEDIA TO MENTORING

As a successful Alaskan woman now working to “pull up” others, Waller exemplifies the mission of her organization. Born in Fairbanks and raised in Anchorage, she left Alaska for nearly two decades for the East Coast. During this time, she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from New York University and Harvard University, respectively, and built a successful career in media.

After about 15 years, however, Waller decided she wanted a change. While working in New York City, she met her husband. Approaching 40, Waller felt the pull to return to Alaska to focus on starting a family and on her ultimate goal: to create an organization in her home state. She incorporated WPLAK in graduate school (while also hosting a radio show and becoming a mother) and moved back to Alaska in June of 2018.

Learn more about the Women’s Power League of Alaska at WPLAK.com.

Waller was inspired to start WPLAK both because of her own experiences as a woman growing up in Alaska and because of the “existing reality” of the wage gap statistics for Alaskan women. “I didn’t achieve success on my own,” Waller explained, adding that she was fortunate to have influential personal and professional mentors who helped her meet her goals. She was also motivated by the work that needed to be done. Upon returning to Alaska, Waller was dismayed to see that not much had changed for women in the 49th state. In fact, she said, in some ways women were faring more poorly than they were 20 years ago. “The concerns of women are talked about but not resolved,” said Waller, citing the gender wage gap as well as high rates of domestic violence, including domestic homicide. “Alaska is a great place, I love the state [and] there are so many good things [about it]...but we should also be critical of the things we love.” She decided to take action to improve the lives of Alaskan women, launching WPLAK about six months after moving to Anchorage.

THE WORK OF THE WPLAK

According to Waller, WPLAK empowers women through several methods, including professional development, volunteerism, activism, and community-building forums. An initial step in addressing social and economic inequalities, Waller said, is providing women with the opportunity to connect with other women.

Female role models and opportunities for female empowerment are particularly important for young Alaskan women because the state is disproportionately male. To both showcase female success and to provide Alaskan women with needed resources, last year WPLAK launched a mentorship program. The 20-Something Mentorship Program pairs aspiring career women in their 20s with professionals who are established in their desired field. Mentors have included attorneys, chief executive officers, and small business owners. This year, WPLAK paired 23 young women with professionals in their areas of interest. During this six-month mentorship, mentors and mentees meet monthly, helping young Alaskan women to learn more about the field they are interested in and to build connections. According to Waller, mentors help their mentees in a variety of ways, including scaling up their businesses and navigating career changes, applying for graduate school, and creating business plans. “The women who sign up to mentor are all accomplished professionals and have had plenty of time mentoring “Alaska is a great place, I love the state [and] there are so many good things [about it]... but we should also be critical of the

things we love.”

others along the way. They have skin in the game,” said Waller.

Waller said that another tenet of WPLAK is civic engagement and community service. Although nonpartisan, the organization promotes volunteerism and activism through involvement in various initiatives. Since 2020 is an election year, the recent focus has been on voter education. “Regardless of who you are voting for, we want to make sure that women are making informed choices and voting for candidates who will support women,” said Waller. Earlier this year, WPLAK held Courageous Conversations, discussions about race led by women which Waller said were “necessary.” While neither voting nor race is necessarily directly tied to gender, women approach issues such as racial injustice differently than men. Promoting female participation in social issues is important because women, according to Waller, “have a level of sensitivity that [lends itself to a] truth telling environment.” For Waller, discussing issues is an initial step toward addressing them; she said she believes Alaskans can eventually close the gender wage gap, but to do so we must first talk about it.

46TH STATE WOMEN’S FORUM

Last November, the WPLAK held its first annual 49th State Women’s Forum. The day-long forum, put on by and for women, featured workshops and discussions about different Alaskan issues as they relate to women. It provided a place to talk about gender issues and experiences as well as resources for career development. The first half of the day was devoted to panels on topics including the impact of the State budget and voting, while the second half of the day offered workshops on topics such as managing finances and self-marketing.

The 49th State Women’s Forum also realizes a core goal of WPLAK: to provide women with platforms to talk about gender issues with other women. As Waller explained, women need more exclusively female spaces to share their experiences and

LEFT: Receiving a Gracie for "Power on the Block": Waller (right) on the red carpet with her sister, Chantalle Rufen-Blanchette. RIGHT: The 49th State Women’s Forum (2019) provided a place to talk about gender issues and experiences as well as career development.

grievances. The organization values its male allies, but the reality is that women have different experiences and process events differently. “Our roads look different from men’s and we need to talk to people who understand where we are coming from,” she said. For instance, women have different experiences than men both in the workplace and the home and it is vital to talk about these differences not only for the sake of progress, but also to create community among women. In all-female environments, women can be themselves because of the “unspoken camaraderie of being in the presence of those who know,” Waller said. Surrounded by others who understand, women feel heard and valued in a way (as the wage gap demonstrates) they sometimes are not.

Providing women with a space to speak with other women about their experiences and problems is both empowering and productive. For Waller, the social empowerment that stems from conversations with other women “directly intersects” with economic empowerment. Through such discussions, women better understand challenges facing the gender as a whole, which allows them to brainstorm ways to solve issues and mobilize. And, to return to the focus on community engagement, this applies not only to women’s issues, but also extends to other social problems. “Women are the best organizers ever,” said Waller. So when women band together to work toward a common goal “no one does it better.” But in order to address In all-female environments, women can be themselves

because of the “unspoken camaraderie of being in the presence of those who know.”

these greater issues, women must first receive the wages and treatment they deserve. The saying “secure your own oxygen mask before assisting others” is applicable: women are better able to serve both themselves and their communities when they are empowered economically. In this way, uplifting women will strengthen Alaska as a whole.

Waller believes WPLAK is particularly critical now as the world has become extremely polarized and political. “Women aren’t down for the fighting and ugliness. Not only is the divisiveness unpleasant, but polarization has not gotten us anywhere,” she explained, “because if it did we wouldn’t be where we are now.” Thus, Waller emphasized, it is important not to get caught up in the division because “if we play into that political divisiveness, we weaken our gender.” This is why WPLAK is not “green, red, or blue…We’re about women, not politics.” Moreover, she said, women are uniquely positioned because so many are mothers who want to make the world a better place for their children. So, instead of adding fuel to the fire, women display the values they want future generations to uphold. Waller said that it is more important now than ever to show youth the value of empathy, compassion, and giving back to the community.

Looking toward the future, Waller said she would like to turn WPLAK into a membership organization so that women who want to join can officially be part of the effort. Waller also hopes to expand the mentorship program while working to keep it affordable, and to extend professional development opportunities. Another goal is to expand geographically. Waller wants to “deepen our connection to women across the state by bringing in women from all areas of Alaska.” She explained that most female leaders are currently based in Anchorage, but she would like the organization to live up to its name—Women’s Power League of Alaska—and better reflect and represent Alaska women throughout the state. Lastly, Waller wants to build upon the positive momentum WPLAK has gained thus far. It is crucial, she said, to remain focused on the organization’s goals as well as community and philanthropy because, “It’s going to take all of our collective lifting to get us where we want to go.”

Maisie Thomas of Nome is a 2020 graduate of Whitman College in Washington state. She has received two Alaska Press Club awards for her articles printed in the Nome Nugget.