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STEM Woman in the White House
You may have heard that +Megan Smith former Vice President of +Google X is now the Chief Technology Officer for +The White House. Smith has both a Bachelor and a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, she serves on the MIT Board, and she is also a successful entrepreneur. She has an outstanding commitment to gender diversity and she is one of the few big-name leaders in STEM who is visible in her work with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) communities.
Smith's Tech Leadership
Smith joined Google in 2003 where she first ran Google's philanthropic organisation, Google.org. Smith has been a champion of STEM women issues, including through the Women Techmakers initiative run by +Google Developers, which supports women through visibility, resources and community support.
More recently Smith oversaw Google's "moonshot" projects, which encompasses cutting edge technology such as the acquisitions that would lead to Google Maps and Google Earth, as well as the development of self-driving cars in Google's "secret" projects team, GoogleX. Google's co-founder +Sergey Brin wished Smith well in her new role, noting that “Megan has inspired so many people through her commitment to inclusion and innovation.”
Shaping the Future of Tech
Smith's new role will be to provide technology advice to the American Government. President Obama said of Smith's appointment:
"Megan has spent her career leading talented teams and taking cutting-edge technology and innovation initiatives from concept to design to deployment. I am confident that in her new role as America’s Chief Technology Officer, she will put her long record of leadership and exceptional skills to work on behalf of the American people." (http://goo.gl/L3IaAf)
Gender & Sexual Diversity
At the 2014 Women Techmakers Summit in May, Smith notes, "In tech we still have to work on our visibility." She cites various women leaders who shaped the modern computer and NASA programs, but are not widely known. Smith notes that even the Google Doodle did not feature a woman for the first seven years.
Lesbian and queer publication +Autostraddle.com called Smith a "Lesbian Badass" and "the futuristic lesbian MacGuyver." They note that Smith's appointment is important both to gender diversity and inclusion of lesbian women in tech. Most LGBTQ STEM events are still largely directed by and geared towards gay men:
"Girls who are entering sixth grade now will grow up in a world where the person directing The United States technology policies and big decisions is a female person. That’s massive! And lesbians in the tech field have previously felt this weird sense of isolation... It’s just awesome to be able to point at a very visible, recognizable and powerful government position that is based on having a massive amount of technology knowledge and say “LOOK WE EXIST LOOK LOOK LOOK.” (http://goo.gl/yQkkFV)
For a longer post with further information and links, head to my blog: http://goo.gl/653PFQ
Credits & Learn More
* Image source: Women Techmakers Summit 2014 http://youtu.be/mfMeXnv_NOE Gif by Zuleyka Zevallos
* Learn more about some of the women Smith mentions and others on +STEM Women on G+. Start with our #stemheroines posts which features women STEM pioneers, or check out our HOAs with contemporary women in STEM.
#stemwomen #megansmith #womentechmakers #engineering #women #stem #stemeducation #science #technology #lgbtq #sociology
You may have heard that +Megan Smith former Vice President of +Google X is now the Chief Technology Officer for +The White House. Smith has both a Bachelor and a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, she serves on the MIT Board, and she is also a successful entrepreneur. She has an outstanding commitment to gender diversity and she is one of the few big-name leaders in STEM who is visible in her work with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) communities.
Smith's Tech Leadership
Smith joined Google in 2003 where she first ran Google's philanthropic organisation, Google.org. Smith has been a champion of STEM women issues, including through the Women Techmakers initiative run by +Google Developers, which supports women through visibility, resources and community support.
More recently Smith oversaw Google's "moonshot" projects, which encompasses cutting edge technology such as the acquisitions that would lead to Google Maps and Google Earth, as well as the development of self-driving cars in Google's "secret" projects team, GoogleX. Google's co-founder +Sergey Brin wished Smith well in her new role, noting that “Megan has inspired so many people through her commitment to inclusion and innovation.”
Shaping the Future of Tech
Smith's new role will be to provide technology advice to the American Government. President Obama said of Smith's appointment:
"Megan has spent her career leading talented teams and taking cutting-edge technology and innovation initiatives from concept to design to deployment. I am confident that in her new role as America’s Chief Technology Officer, she will put her long record of leadership and exceptional skills to work on behalf of the American people." (http://goo.gl/L3IaAf)
Gender & Sexual Diversity
At the 2014 Women Techmakers Summit in May, Smith notes, "In tech we still have to work on our visibility." She cites various women leaders who shaped the modern computer and NASA programs, but are not widely known. Smith notes that even the Google Doodle did not feature a woman for the first seven years.
Lesbian and queer publication +Autostraddle.com called Smith a "Lesbian Badass" and "the futuristic lesbian MacGuyver." They note that Smith's appointment is important both to gender diversity and inclusion of lesbian women in tech. Most LGBTQ STEM events are still largely directed by and geared towards gay men:
"Girls who are entering sixth grade now will grow up in a world where the person directing The United States technology policies and big decisions is a female person. That’s massive! And lesbians in the tech field have previously felt this weird sense of isolation... It’s just awesome to be able to point at a very visible, recognizable and powerful government position that is based on having a massive amount of technology knowledge and say “LOOK WE EXIST LOOK LOOK LOOK.” (http://goo.gl/yQkkFV)
For a longer post with further information and links, head to my blog: http://goo.gl/653PFQ
Credits & Learn More
* Image source: Women Techmakers Summit 2014 http://youtu.be/mfMeXnv_NOE Gif by Zuleyka Zevallos
* Learn more about some of the women Smith mentions and others on +STEM Women on G+. Start with our #stemheroines posts which features women STEM pioneers, or check out our HOAs with contemporary women in STEM.
#stemwomen #megansmith #womentechmakers #engineering #women #stem #stemeducation #science #technology #lgbtq #sociology
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Newly Updated! 31+ STEM Books to Inspire Girls
https://www.pragmaticmom.com/2017/08/stem-books-to-inspire-girls/
#STEM #STEMWomen #ReadYourWorld #KidLit
https://www.pragmaticmom.com/2017/08/stem-books-to-inspire-girls/
#STEM #STEMWomen #ReadYourWorld #KidLit
31+ STEM Books to Inspire Girls
pragmaticmom.com
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Born this day in 1933: Elinor Ostrom, the first and only woman to be awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences - after previously not having been admitted to the PhD programme due to her gender.
#todaysmemory #todayinhistory #TodayInWomensHistory #stemwomen
#todaysmemory #todayinhistory #TodayInWomensHistory #stemwomen
Born this day: Elinor Ostrom
moazedi.blogspot.com
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Chemistry, Career & Culture: Professor Siromi Samarasinghe
This morning +Rajini Rao and I spoke with Prof. +Siromi Samarasinghe for +STEM Women on G+. Siromi spoke about what it was like being a woman Chemistry Professor in Sri Lanka and how to better support students. She discussed how one of the main issues impeding women's progress in science is the cultural expectation of marriage.
Being a Woman Scientist in Sri Lanka
Siromi pursued her Masters and PhD at a time when not many women were going into the sciences, both in Sri Lanka and in other parts of the world. She moved the UK to study even though there was tremendous pressure from family and friends on her mother to get Siromi married off. Thankfully, her mother was supportive and Siromi was able to carry out her research on food chemistry with a focus on the fascinating chemistry of tea! Siromi was the only woman doing a postgraduate degree in any sciences at her university, and despite feeling isolated as a result, she completed her PhD studies with great success. Siromi went back to Sri Lanka were she would eventually become Chair of her Department - a role she held until recently.
Mentoring Women
As part of her current academic role at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Siromi conducts research, she teaches and she leads other programs to mentor students. She notes that universities can more easily help students when they have financial trouble, but it's harder to support women when families put pressure on them to marry and start a family before they've finished their degrees. Siromi observes that policy change within the university cannot be fully effective until Sri Lankan culture changes to embrace the full benefits of having women complete their education. This cultural shift also includes supporting women if they choose to be working mothers. Siromi is a clear example of what women can achieve when their families support their academic passion!
Supporting International Students
Having studied abroad and now supervising students who have studied as international students, Siromi noted that supervisors should be aware of cultural issues in communication. Students from Asian cultures may be reticent to speak up especially if they disagree with their supervisors or if they're having other problems. Supervisors need to create opportunities for international students to air out issues rather than assuming everything is going well.
Forging Links With Industry
Finally, Siromi talked about her university role strengthening working ties with industry. She noted that academics don't always appreciate how scientific theories don't always fit in with industry expectations and demands. Siromi argues that academics need to have a clear focus on the practical outcomes of their research in order to more successfully form partnerships with industry stakeholders.
We need to hear more of these stories from women scientists and practitioners from different societies in different fields! You can watch Siromi share her journey on our YouTube channel: http://buff.ly/Z6hSwg
Learn More about Siromi
Want to read more about Siromi? Head to our STEM Women page for an earlier post by Siromi, who writes about how science helped her overcome life challenges. http://buff.ly/Z6hSwh
Intrigued by Siromi's tea research? Read her overview of the science of tea in this interesting and easy to read post, where Siromi explains the differences between black, green and "white" (Ceylon) tea, as well as their medicinal benefits. http://buff.ly/Z6hUEt
#science #stemwomen #chemistry #stem #sociology
This morning +Rajini Rao and I spoke with Prof. +Siromi Samarasinghe for +STEM Women on G+. Siromi spoke about what it was like being a woman Chemistry Professor in Sri Lanka and how to better support students. She discussed how one of the main issues impeding women's progress in science is the cultural expectation of marriage.
Being a Woman Scientist in Sri Lanka
Siromi pursued her Masters and PhD at a time when not many women were going into the sciences, both in Sri Lanka and in other parts of the world. She moved the UK to study even though there was tremendous pressure from family and friends on her mother to get Siromi married off. Thankfully, her mother was supportive and Siromi was able to carry out her research on food chemistry with a focus on the fascinating chemistry of tea! Siromi was the only woman doing a postgraduate degree in any sciences at her university, and despite feeling isolated as a result, she completed her PhD studies with great success. Siromi went back to Sri Lanka were she would eventually become Chair of her Department - a role she held until recently.
Mentoring Women
As part of her current academic role at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Siromi conducts research, she teaches and she leads other programs to mentor students. She notes that universities can more easily help students when they have financial trouble, but it's harder to support women when families put pressure on them to marry and start a family before they've finished their degrees. Siromi observes that policy change within the university cannot be fully effective until Sri Lankan culture changes to embrace the full benefits of having women complete their education. This cultural shift also includes supporting women if they choose to be working mothers. Siromi is a clear example of what women can achieve when their families support their academic passion!
Supporting International Students
Having studied abroad and now supervising students who have studied as international students, Siromi noted that supervisors should be aware of cultural issues in communication. Students from Asian cultures may be reticent to speak up especially if they disagree with their supervisors or if they're having other problems. Supervisors need to create opportunities for international students to air out issues rather than assuming everything is going well.
Forging Links With Industry
Finally, Siromi talked about her university role strengthening working ties with industry. She noted that academics don't always appreciate how scientific theories don't always fit in with industry expectations and demands. Siromi argues that academics need to have a clear focus on the practical outcomes of their research in order to more successfully form partnerships with industry stakeholders.
We need to hear more of these stories from women scientists and practitioners from different societies in different fields! You can watch Siromi share her journey on our YouTube channel: http://buff.ly/Z6hSwg
Learn More about Siromi
Want to read more about Siromi? Head to our STEM Women page for an earlier post by Siromi, who writes about how science helped her overcome life challenges. http://buff.ly/Z6hSwh
Intrigued by Siromi's tea research? Read her overview of the science of tea in this interesting and easy to read post, where Siromi explains the differences between black, green and "white" (Ceylon) tea, as well as their medicinal benefits. http://buff.ly/Z6hUEt
#science #stemwomen #chemistry #stem #sociology
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Sticking up for STEM Women
Our founder, Dr +Buddhini Samarasinghe spoke with +UCL Researchers about the history of our community:
"Back in 2012, I think it was on International Women’s Day, someone on Facebook shared a list of female scientists whom you may or may not have heard of. Obviously Marie Curie was in it, and there were lots of other black and white photos of women who were mostly already dead. Great that such a list is being shared, but I figured I should put together a list of more current female scientists to whom people could better relate.
"I used +Google+ which was pretty new at that time and had lots of female engineers and scientists who were posting publicly about their work. So I started compiling a list of their names and ‘shared’ them around, making a group of strong female role models who could inspire people. Off the back of that, I teamed up with two other female researchers and launched a website to celebrate females in STEM, and to comment on the current issues they face."
Learn more about our origins and why we fight for women in STEM, from the microaggressions of everyday sexism, which build up over time, to systemic inequality across institutions.
Read more: http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-researchers/2015/05/22/sticking-up-for-stem-women/
Original image Maia Weinstock, CC 2.0: https://goo.gl/dOiZ1p Adapted by STEM Women. #stemwomen #womeninstem
Our founder, Dr +Buddhini Samarasinghe spoke with +UCL Researchers about the history of our community:
"Back in 2012, I think it was on International Women’s Day, someone on Facebook shared a list of female scientists whom you may or may not have heard of. Obviously Marie Curie was in it, and there were lots of other black and white photos of women who were mostly already dead. Great that such a list is being shared, but I figured I should put together a list of more current female scientists to whom people could better relate.
"I used +Google+ which was pretty new at that time and had lots of female engineers and scientists who were posting publicly about their work. So I started compiling a list of their names and ‘shared’ them around, making a group of strong female role models who could inspire people. Off the back of that, I teamed up with two other female researchers and launched a website to celebrate females in STEM, and to comment on the current issues they face."
Learn more about our origins and why we fight for women in STEM, from the microaggressions of everyday sexism, which build up over time, to systemic inequality across institutions.
Read more: http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-researchers/2015/05/22/sticking-up-for-stem-women/
Original image Maia Weinstock, CC 2.0: https://goo.gl/dOiZ1p Adapted by STEM Women. #stemwomen #womeninstem
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To attract more women to #STEM careers, the focus should shift from coding to problem-solving.
Read our latest blog post on women in computer science. http://ow.ly/OI5d30l4jHQ #STEMWomen #WomeninComputerScience #BBKBusiness
Read our latest blog post on women in computer science. http://ow.ly/OI5d30l4jHQ #STEMWomen #WomeninComputerScience #BBKBusiness
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#STEMWomen can you be a #scientist and still looking good?Is there a myth around women femininity and their actual ability to do science?
Really? You don’t look like a scientist.
researchgate.net
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Should Women Scientists Really Need to Know How To Bake To Become Leaders?
A survey of women scientists who participate in Homeward Bound, a leadership course for women held in Antarctica, finds that the majority are funding their own leadership training. Over half of the participants crowd-sourced or did other forms of fundraising while 25% covered their costs out of pocket. Only 7% were funded by their employers, most of whom worked in government research. Women are disadvantaged in STEMM because they are structurally kept out of senior roles. At the same time, leadership experience is central to promotions. There is a cycle of inequity thwarting women's leadership potential.
"What will it take for Australian organisations to recognise the value in seriously investing in women in STEMM? Why should individual women continually bear the costs for leadership development when the collective benefits have been so widely acknowledged?"
SAGE is discussed in this excellent article about the need for institutional support of women's potential.
"To plug the pipeline, 32 Australian universities and research institutions have signed up to the SAGE pilot of Athena Swan, an international effort to shine a spotlight on barriers to gender equality in STEMM and to identify weaknesses and shortcomings in policy."
Read more on +New Matilda https://newmatilda.com/2016/06/15/should-women-scientists-really-have-to-know-how-to-bake-cakes-and-knit-to-become-leaders/ #stemwomen #womeninscience #womeinstem
[Photo: Dr Amanda Davies, one of the authors, in the field]
A survey of women scientists who participate in Homeward Bound, a leadership course for women held in Antarctica, finds that the majority are funding their own leadership training. Over half of the participants crowd-sourced or did other forms of fundraising while 25% covered their costs out of pocket. Only 7% were funded by their employers, most of whom worked in government research. Women are disadvantaged in STEMM because they are structurally kept out of senior roles. At the same time, leadership experience is central to promotions. There is a cycle of inequity thwarting women's leadership potential.
"What will it take for Australian organisations to recognise the value in seriously investing in women in STEMM? Why should individual women continually bear the costs for leadership development when the collective benefits have been so widely acknowledged?"
SAGE is discussed in this excellent article about the need for institutional support of women's potential.
"To plug the pipeline, 32 Australian universities and research institutions have signed up to the SAGE pilot of Athena Swan, an international effort to shine a spotlight on barriers to gender equality in STEMM and to identify weaknesses and shortcomings in policy."
Read more on +New Matilda https://newmatilda.com/2016/06/15/should-women-scientists-really-have-to-know-how-to-bake-cakes-and-knit-to-become-leaders/ #stemwomen #womeninscience #womeinstem
[Photo: Dr Amanda Davies, one of the authors, in the field]
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Why women must still fight for equality in science
Webinar with Professor Hazel Hall Lessons from Athena SWAN
5th May 5.30pm AEST / 8.30am UK time
Professor Hazel Hall led a self-assessment process for gender equity which resulted in a Bronze Athena SWAN Award for +Edinburgh Napier. One of their areas of success was awareness-raising and engagement. Here she writes for The Conversation about an event they organised to mark the achievement of women in STEMM for Ada Lovelace Day with the scientist who discovered pulsars, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, as part of the University's 50 year celebrations.
In 1974 Tony Hewish and Martin Ryle were jointly awarded the Nobel prize for physics in recognition of the discovery. This was considered remarkable for two reasons. First, the prize had never gone to astronomy before. Second, and more controversially in the opinion of many, Bell Burnell (by this time married) was not cited in the award. She had apparently been overlooked in favour of her supervisor and head of group. This turned her into a cause célèbre for 1970s feminism.
The now Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell has this month become the first female president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. As one of her first duties, she is presenting a keynote speech on October 14 at an event to mark the achievement of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine as part of Edinburgh Napier University’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Though Bell Burnell does not herself bemoan her lack of a Nobel prize, claiming that this might have precluded other honours and opportunities during her career, the date of this speech coincides with Ada Lovelace Day. Lovelace is another scientific heroine, born in 1815. The mathematician and writer is regarded as the world’s first computer programmer, though some claim that she and other women who played significant roles in computing have been deliberately written out of history. The dedicated day is an attempt both to write them back in, and prompt the scientific community to acknowledge the contribution of female scientists and engineers across all disciplines.
It is also a useful opportunity to point out to how under-represented women still are in this area. Only 13% of jobs in science-related professions are held by women. The next generation looks somewhat better, but still far from encouraging: twice as many A-level maths candidates are boys as girls; in physics A-level the disparity is five times.
#WomeninScience #WomeninSTEM #STEMWomen
http://buff.ly/1Nkh0gB
Dame Bell Burnell speaking at Edinburgh Napier:
Webinar with Professor Hazel Hall Lessons from Athena SWAN
5th May 5.30pm AEST / 8.30am UK time
Professor Hazel Hall led a self-assessment process for gender equity which resulted in a Bronze Athena SWAN Award for +Edinburgh Napier. One of their areas of success was awareness-raising and engagement. Here she writes for The Conversation about an event they organised to mark the achievement of women in STEMM for Ada Lovelace Day with the scientist who discovered pulsars, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, as part of the University's 50 year celebrations.
In 1974 Tony Hewish and Martin Ryle were jointly awarded the Nobel prize for physics in recognition of the discovery. This was considered remarkable for two reasons. First, the prize had never gone to astronomy before. Second, and more controversially in the opinion of many, Bell Burnell (by this time married) was not cited in the award. She had apparently been overlooked in favour of her supervisor and head of group. This turned her into a cause célèbre for 1970s feminism.
The now Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell has this month become the first female president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. As one of her first duties, she is presenting a keynote speech on October 14 at an event to mark the achievement of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine as part of Edinburgh Napier University’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Though Bell Burnell does not herself bemoan her lack of a Nobel prize, claiming that this might have precluded other honours and opportunities during her career, the date of this speech coincides with Ada Lovelace Day. Lovelace is another scientific heroine, born in 1815. The mathematician and writer is regarded as the world’s first computer programmer, though some claim that she and other women who played significant roles in computing have been deliberately written out of history. The dedicated day is an attempt both to write them back in, and prompt the scientific community to acknowledge the contribution of female scientists and engineers across all disciplines.
It is also a useful opportunity to point out to how under-represented women still are in this area. Only 13% of jobs in science-related professions are held by women. The next generation looks somewhat better, but still far from encouraging: twice as many A-level maths candidates are boys as girls; in physics A-level the disparity is five times.
#WomeninScience #WomeninSTEM #STEMWomen
http://buff.ly/1Nkh0gB
Dame Bell Burnell speaking at Edinburgh Napier:
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