Marisa Franciosi

I attribute my success to my constancy and being a hard worker. I'm a very constant person who keeps pushing forward no matter what. I try to be a positive person all the time. Even when I have low feelings, I don't get depressed. I wake up every morning happy and singing, and my dogs are even used to it. I maintain this positive energy and constancy every single day. I'm a hard worker and a constant person, and that combination has helped me succeed even through difficult times like COVID and the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated industry.

The best career advice I received came from my strategic partner in Argentina during a difficult time in my life. After I lost my little sister during COVID, which was very hard for my family, I started to feel differently about the negative treatment I'd experienced as a woman in geology. I had often felt like quitting because of being objectified and not feeling recognized or good enough compared to men. But my partner told me something that changed my perspective: if people are remembering you, you are more important than them, and they know that. They feel threatened by you, and you didn't realize that you are at the advantage because they feel threatened by you. This advice helped me realize that when people know me more than I know them, it's actually a position of strength. I need to use that recognition. It was a very good piece of advice that changed how I interact with people in my field.

Don't be scared. Even though the oil and gas and mining industry was created for males and structured for men, the knowledge and feeling that women can give to the industry doesn't exist for them, and it's much better because of what we bring. Women can bring more sustainability for the moment and for the future. We are just as good as male geologists, but women are thinking about different things. We're thinking about the industry and our kids at the same time, and that's a very important thing because we are thinking to leave them a better world. Because of that, we are more valuable than the very common male geologists. So go for it, go for it. Don't let fear hold you back from entering this field.

The biggest challenges I face in my field are being a woman in a male-dominated industry and language barriers. The oil and gas and mining industries are very macho environments where it's hard to get recognized as a woman. Throughout my career, I've faced situations where I felt objectified rather than respected as a professional. For example, when I was the first woman working in the Andean Ridge on horseback doing field mapping, the Mexican mining company I worked for took many pictures of me because it was crazy for them to have a woman running a project. Even recently in Toronto, someone stopped me on the street remembering me as 'the Amazona riding a horse,' which felt disrespectful and like I was being treated as an object. The language barrier has also been a huge challenge. Coming to the United States and trying to do business in English when it's not my first language was very difficult. It's not the same as taking classes at home versus actually conducting business in another language and another country. However, I've turned this into a strength, as I now spend 80% of my day speaking in English.

The most important values to me are being the best version of myself and being honest in everything I do. First and foremost, I try to be a good person in every environment - as a friend, as a mom, as a partner to my husband, and as a daughter to my parents, especially after they lost my sister. I strive to be a good professional who is honest with people and companies. I try to be the best version of me because I feel good when I do, and I like to sleep like a baby at night. Being very honest with my feelings and how I feel is essential to who I am. This honesty with myself and everybody else guides both my work and personal life.