My Story/My Advice: Julia Curran

This My Story/My Advice post features Julia Curran, a woman in STEM who works at Takeda Oncology. The My Story/My Advice project, brought to you by The Women in STEM Summit, which highlights women in STEM that are persisting in STEM fields and making a difference. It also gives their personal advice to the next generation of young women looking for encouragement to persist in STEM.

Julia’s Story:

I found early on that I was passionate about the life sciences. I asked my parents for a lab coat and a microscope for my 9th birthday. In my 5th grade yearbook I wrote that as my future career, I wanted to find the cure to cancer and it turns out that I now work at a company that aspires to cure cancer. I have always been passionate about the life sciences and having seen people in my life affected by cancer as so many do, I was motivated to help oncology patients which is what drove me to work in an oncology research lab in college and now work at Takeda Oncology.

Julia’s Advice:

I recently read a National Geographic article on why it’s crucial to get more women into science and one thing that struck me about the article was how the author stated how his daughter of 13 years is interested in math and science and he says “it hasn’t occurred to her yet that its unusual but I know in the next couple of years it will.” He goes on to say “I know as time goes on, she’ll feel increasingly lonely as a girl who is interested in math and science-and be at risk of narrowing her choices before finding out how far she could have gone.”

This resonated with me because I found early on that I was passionate about the life sciences and as a young girl, I never felt lonely or unusual being involved in the science. I have been fortunate to have strong role models throughout my education as well as parents who have tremendously supported my career path. My advice is to find a mentor and to surround yourself with people that will support you and encourage you to pursue your interests! I found my first STEM role model in my middle school science teacher who not only encouraged me but also challenged me and supported me to pursue more advanced scientific work.

Register for the upcoming Women in STEM Summit taking place October 22, 2015 in Boston, MA. The event brings together companies struggling to fill their STEM job pipelines with female college students pursuing STEM degrees. The summit is designed to facilitate closing the gap between corporate needs for a STEM-enabled workforce and student questions about job prospects that align their passion with the needs of corporate America. For more information or to register, click here: http://bit.ly/1hZFME2

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STEM Chat with Alisha Sarag-Sieminski

chat with Alisha Sarang-Sieminski
September 29 2014 Alisha Sarang-Sieminski, Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Director of SCOPE, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
If I could tell a young woman pursuing STEM one thing it would be that when you feel the small slights that happen, or you flinch just a little bit about the way someone says something (sexist), or you feel like your knowledge is questioned, it's not just you. It's part of a larger system and other people experience it too. And other people notice it. You are not alone. And though this may not resonate with you yet, tuck it away somewhere for later when you start to question whether you belong here. And then find yourself some really good allies. My dream project is to grow really awesome tissue-based models for testing pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The best advice I ever received was to (this is going to sound cliché) just try things and to believe in myself. Starting from that place helps keep all the little voices in my head telling me I can't do something or I shouldn't do something a little quieter. And takes me in some amazing directions.	I lead by a combination of benevolent dictatorship and consensus. What brings these together is finding the win-win for people as much as possible and being transparent about my motives and constraints. While I'm the one in charge, I also think that all the stakeholders need to be heard. I'm proud that I have followed my heart and instincts about decisions I have made in my life. There's inevitably a lot of work at every step to make things happen, but leading from my gut has taken me places I wouldn't have expected and has always done me right.
Alisha will be speaking at The Women in STEM Idea Exchange Summit in Boston. Find out more at www.womeninSTEMsummits.com © 2014 IIR Holdings, LTD. All Rights Reserved.

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Find Out How to Recruit and Retain Talent in the New Generation of STEM Graduates This Fall in Boston

70/30.
That is the sad ratio describing gender diversity in STEM-intensive industries.

Apple's workforce: 70% male, 30% female.
Googles? That's right, 70% male, 30% female.
Yahoo? You guessed it, 70/30.

The question confronting CEOs of many of the leading companies in the world is "how do we achieve balance by recruiting and retaining qualified women" into the workforce? 

This question will be tackled head by some of leading talent acquisition professionals in corporate America at the Women in STEM Idea Exchange Summit, taking place October 21, 2014 at the Center for Women and Business at Bentley University in Massachusetts.

This is your opportunity to learn from and interact with Amy Van Kirk, Parexel; Sachin Sahney, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; and Emily Cournoyer, Covidien as they discuss:

Future of the American Workforce: How to Recruit and Retain Talent in the New Generation of STEM Graduates.

A balanced STEM workforce is crucial to America's innovative capacity and overall global competitiveness. According to the US Department of Commerce, "women are vastly underrepresented in STEM jobs and among STEM degree holders despite making up nearly half of the US workforce and half of the college-educated workforce." Companies are heavily investing in recruitment initiatives across the nation to create a pipeline of women graduating and going into STEM fields. However, despite the current efforts there is a clear gender bias when looking at the amount of women in STEM careers. What should companies do to change the environment and corporate culture that is lagging behind the retention rates of non-STEM industries? How can companies appeal more to the female workforce and create career longevity for these talented women? This session, featuring key industry leaders in STEM talent retention, will address the pivotal points and strategy in recruiting and retaining women in the STEM workforce.

To see all the sessions designed to help you change the future of the workforce in your organization, download the brochure: http://bit.ly/1mIlScp

Don't miss this unique opportunity to listen, learn, discuss and be inspired by professionals developing the STEM workforce of tomorrow. Register today: http://bit.ly/1zsBdUe

Looking forward to seeing you at the Summit!

Best,

The Women in STEM Exchange Summits Team
#WomeninSTEM
@WISExchange
Steamacceleratorblog.iirusa.com

Women Find STEM Success in Developing Countries

These days, more and more women are proving that they can succeed in fields that were once unavailable to them.  However, the female participation rate for STEM industries is 30 percent or less in some of the world's largest economies.

One women, Simone Badal McCreath, told U.S. News that she dreamed of being a doctor. Her mother had left the family when she was young and she grew up in a poor community and no one in her family had ever gone to college. Bu, her father who was an uneducated, yet brilliant shopkeeper wanted his children to get an education. One of McCreath’s challenges in high school was a lack of science teachers, so it wasn’t until she arrived at the University of the West Indies and she knew she wouldn’t be practicing medicine.

“There was this one professor who taught biochemistry,” she told U.S. News. “I remember falling in love with biochemistry right then and there. It wasn’t abstract. One chemical process has to happen before another one can happen. For example, first insulin releases; it travels to cells; blood sugar is affected. It made sense, and I fell in love with it.”

McCreath and four other women faced and met their own challenges to go on to win the 2014 Elsevier Foundation Award for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World. The award is intended to give women in poor nations the international recognition that often leads to financial and peer support to advance their work. The five women, all chemists, were honored for their work that looks to nature for potential cures and treatments for cancer, malaria and other diseases.

“In sciences, academia and research, there’s value in recognition,” said David Ruth, executive director of the Elsevier Foundation. “Women are an untapped resource in the developing world.”

The global picture is grim for women in STEM fields as the number of women working in those fields is on the decline. One study of some of the world’s largest economies, including the United States, the European Union, South Africa, Korea, Indonesia and India, found that in physics, computer sciences, and engineering the participation rate of women is 30 percent or less. In countries that have made an effort to increase the number of women studying science and technology, those efforts have not translated into more women working in the fields.

Other things, like glass ceilings, lack of child care, and cultural obstacles against women in science, get in the way of career advancement. For instance, in the Arab world, the number of women studying physics is higher than men, but that number drops dramatically at the faculty level in universities. To see the ripple effect of greater numbers of women in specific fields of science, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations looked at women in agricultural science. The FAO estimates that increasing the number of women scientists reaching out to female farmers at the same level that male farmers are being reached by scientists would result in an increase in agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5 percent to 4 percent; it could reduce the number of undernourished people by 12 percent to 17 percent; and reduce the number of undernourished people around the globe by 100 million to 150 million people. In very poor countries, before women can become scientists, engineers, computer experts or mathematicians, they must be able to read and write.

In Yemen, the literacy rate among women is only 46 percent compared to 80 percent among men. In Nigeria, about half of women can read and write, compared to 72 percent of men. Two of the award winners are from those countries - these women have overcome obstacles far beyond basic reading and writing, and they have excelled. In many ways, their lives have been very different.

Despite their differences, there are common threads among the women honored this year and in previous years. Many of them talk about having had a mentor, according to Ruth. But most of all, they uniformly talk about the support they have from others – husbands, children, parents and extended families.

“What’s striking is that you see a lot of women coming to get this award with their families,” Ruth said.  “They have a support network. In parts of the world where gender is more of an issue, it takes more than just one individual to be able to succeed.”

Want more on Women in STEM? We have a one day event all about this topic coming up in October right in Boston! For more information about The Women in STEM Idea Exchange Summits, visit our website here: http://bit.ly/1kUYpJl

Related articles

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STEM Chat with Tracy Gray

chat with Tracy Gray
July 7, 2014 Tracy Gray, Ph.D., Managing Director, American Institutes for Research, Center for STEM Education and Innovation
The person who inspired me the most when I was growing up was Oliver, my stepfather, who was an inventor of digital devices. Oliver was motivated by the excitement of discovery and a genuine curiosity about how things worked and ways to make the world a better place. He always took the time to answer any question and expanded my sense of what is possible. To me, the greatest mathematician/technologist/scientist/ engineer is Albert Einstein who was willing to follow the pursuit of knowledge despite the naysayers he met along the way. If I could tell a young woman pursuing STEM one thing, it would be keep your eye on the long view and do not be daunted by the barriers and challenges that you will encounter along your STEM journey. If I could meet one person it would be Lise Meitner, an Austrian scientist who went on to discover nuclear fission despite having been barred from high school and the opportunity to work with other scientists in the laboratory because of her religious background. My favorite non-fiction book is "The Discoverers" by Daniel Boorstin. My favorite fiction book is "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt. My favorite source of industry news is Wired Magazine because it always contains some interesting news about the ever changing field of technology. To me a successful woman is someone who is able to achieve a balance between work and family life. My favorite technological innovation is the iPad. In high school, I wish I knew computer science. When I first started to work in my field I there were very few women interested in technology.	My dream project is to ensure that every child has equal access to technology and teachers who know how to use these tools to inspire learning. The best advice I ever received was Illegitimi non carborundum. The very next thing on my to do list is help a high school senior with their college essay. In my free time I love to hike and read. At least once, everyone should fall in love. The best way to unwind after a long day is to go for a long walk with my husband and dog, Kaya. Smartest person I've ever worked with is Eli Segal who led the launch of AmeriCorps under President Clinton because he knew how to build a team and inspired everyone to give their all to make the program a success. My favorite city in the world is Rome. If I had a one year sabbatical, I would travel the world. The most overused word in meetings today is "like." The biggest misconception about women in STEM is that they are not interested in STEM or IT. My tools of the trade are are my ability to understand complex ideas and communicate them to others. The biggest thing that has changed since I started in the industry is the awareness of the importance of engaging more students in STEM. I'm happiest when I'm making a difference in the lives of someone. I wish I could start a foundation to support more students to follow a STEM career. I'm proud that my daughters are following their passion to make the world a better place.
Find out more at www.womeninSTEMsummits.com © 2014 IIR Holdings, LTD. All Rights Reserved.

STEM Chat with Courtney Tanenbaum

chat with Courtney Tanenbaum
June 23, 2014 Courtney Tanenbaum, Senior Researcher, STEM Marketing & Research Lead, American Institutes for Research (AIR)
The person who inspired me the most when I was growing up was my grandfather. He was kind, funny, always ready with a hug, and always inventing things—both in the kitchen and in his garage! As I got older, he also listened to all of my ideas with such thoughtfulness and interest; he truly made me believe I could accomplish anything I wanted. To me, the greatest mathematician/technologist/scientist/ engineer is Amelia Earhart. A woman who broke the mold, and inspired the adventurer in all of us! If I could tell a young woman pursuing STEM one thing, it would be "persist". If I could meet one person it would be Eleanor Roosevelt. My favorite non-fiction book is "The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton" by Jerome Karabel. My favorite fiction book is Jane Eyre. Although I was recently introduced to a different kind of love story, "The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics." For anyone who loves STEM and appreciates the creativity and artfulness of science, this is a love story for you! My favorite source of industry news is Science. The most recent edition is a special issue on the science of equity. I love how they bring to light how integral science and technology are for solving the world's biggest challenges. To me a successful woman is a woman who is confident in herself, is meaningful in her work, and always willing to listen and learn more. My favorite technological innovation is Facetime/Skype. Being able to interact with loved ones myself, and to share my son's growth, laughter, and playfulness, with those who are far away with more than just voice, is truly a gift. In high school, I wish I knew that I actually was good at math and science. When I first started to work in my field I never realized the issues of equity and opportunity in STEM, and how critically important exposure to STEM is early in one's life in ensuring the widest array of choices to all individuals.	My dream project is visiting the schools and institutions that have successfully fostered STEM talent in neighborhoods and within communities that are too often overlooked or underserved in these fields; and then sharing their strategies and successes to motivate change in behavior, practices, and perceptions among others. The best advice I ever received was if you don't understand something, ask! In my free time I...Yikes?! What free time…when I do find some, I curl up with a big book (and not a kindle, but an old fashioned hardback or paperback)! The best way to unwind after a long day is a nice long walk with loved ones or friends. The smartest person I've ever worked with...There are too many to name just one! But, I recently attended the Advancing Equity in STEM Symposium in Washington, DC and the physics teacher from a STEM-focused charter school served on one of the panels. A fantastically smart woman when it comes to engaging youth in STEM, and someone anyone would be lucky to work with, I imagine. My favorite city in the world is Seattle. Perhaps not as exciting as it sounds, but it reminds me of home and I love the water, the mountains, the food, and the coffee! If I had a one year sabbatical, I would travel and read lots and lots of books. The biggest misconception about women in STEM is that they are different than other women. My tools of the trade are in broadening participation in STEM research, I find the most useful "tools" are attending events on the issue, reading diverse perspectives and ideas, and asking questions! The biggest thing that has changed since I started in the industry is the emerging focus on changing STEM cultures and environments (rather than "fixing" individuals) to successfully engage a wider array of diverse individuals in the STEM community. I'm happiest when I'm with family and friends. I lead by sharing my passion and interest for the work with my team. I'm proud that I push myself to accomplish what is important to me in all aspect of my life—career, family, friends, and health.
Find out more at www.womeninSTEMsummits.com © 2014 IIR Holdings, LTD. All Rights Reserved.

Women in STEM Stories: Nicole Richard

Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers are characterized by innovation, exploration and progress.  With the right qualifications and the drive to succeed, anyone can thrive in a STEM career, especially women.  The challenge is this: how can we get more women to shrug off the preconceived notion that the STEM world is a man’s world?  

Our solution is to find some of the brightest and most inspiring women in STEM fields today, and have them share their stories and even some advice on how they managed to succeed with all odds against them.  

In her own words, Senior Project Manager at LabVIEW, Nicole Richard, describes her path to working in STEM:

 “I took a programming class in high school, and the logic of it just clicked with me. I found myself spending my lunch hour modifying my hangman program to add an ambulance that would drive across the screen to cart the figure off. Since I liked programming and knew I could make a good living at it, I decided to major in Computer Engineering. However, throughout college and my early career, I struggled with feelings that engineering wasn't the right fit for me. Then one day I got the opportunity to begin working with LEGO to design robotics systems for kids, and a whole new relationship to engineering and the opportunities it offers to really make an impact in the world started to open up for me. I've discovered and developed a passion for using technology to open up new educational opportunities for kids, particularly in underserved areas of the world.”

Stories like Nicole’s are music to our ears.  They are the reason we, at IIR USA, believe the Women in STEM Idea Exchange Summits have the potential to change the world.  If we are able to show just one girl the potential of a career in STEM, we would be making a difference.

The first of four STEM Exchange Summits will take place on October 21, 2014 at the Center for Women and Business at Bentley University in Massachusetts.  Corporations will have the opportunity to make one-on-one connections with students who are possible future employees, while students learn about the rewards of STEM career paths.

Help us change the face of STEM for good.

Register for Women in STEM today to listen, learn, discuss and be inspired: http://bit.ly/1n4b6iI

The Time for STEM is Now

What could be more important to President Obama than a visit from recent Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks?  Well, possibly a visit from a group of gifted young students to this year’s White House Science Fair.

“As a society we have to celebrate outstanding work by young people in science,” stated the President.  “Superstar biologists and engineers, and rocket scientists and robot builders, they don’t always get the attention they deserve, but they’re what’s going to transform society.”

The President’s words resonated within the exhibitions he oversaw.  Ranging from remote-operated vehicles that assist search-and-rescue dive teams, to potential cures for cancer and influenza, it is clear these young minds will push society into the future. 

This year’s science fair not only exposed the President to how bright America’s future is, but also incorporated a special focus on the young women behind these STEM inspired projects.  Of the twelve projects seen by President Obama, eight were led by or included women.  The presidential administration was very pleased by this as it hopes to generate a more youthful interest in STEM as well as the gender ratios of students who are studying these subjects, and with good reason. 

Women currently make up 59 percent of U.S college graduates, yet only 12 percent of those women graduate with a degree in a scientific field.  It is in the country’s best interest to integrate women into STEM fields.  More women in STEM professions will increase overall productivity as well as show the world what women are really capable of.  Just take a look at what the amazing minds at the White House Science Fair were able to accomplish.

Read about some of the amazing projects here: http://cbsn.ws/1o641iB