Reflections of an Employment Counsellor on the Montreal Massacre — thoughts about women and careers in science
Commemorations of the Montreal Massacre which happened 26 years ago yesterday, got me thinking about women in science careers.
While we stop every year to reflect on the tragic murders of the 14 female students, we often forget to mention that they were targeted deliberately for being engineering students:
One of the students, Nathalie Provost, said, “Look, we are just women studying engineering, not necessarily feminists ready to march on the streets to shout we are against men, just students intent on leading a normal life.” Lépine responded that “You’re women, you’re going to be engineers. You’re all a bunch of feminists. I hate feminists.”
Wikipedia > École Polytechnique massacre
26 years later, while there has been progress, women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers still face threats and discrimination. Many don’t stay in the field. And, while pay has improved (and is still better than in most fields) there are still unexplained penalties faced by women in these fields.
In addition, not all STEM careers are equal. In December 2014, Statistics Canada published a report that noted that within STEM careers, women tend to choose the fields which are less lucrative, noting that,
“…among women who choose to pursue a degree in STEM, most do so in biology or science programs, resulting in even fewer women in engineering, computer science and mathematics programs. These choices have consequences, as fields of study such as engineering and computer science lead, on average, to better outcomes in the labour market in terms of employment, job match and earnings.”
STEM career futures
Careers in STEM fields are in high demand, as the world faces the challenges of climate change and a burgeoning world population. Biotalent Canada, which describes itself as “the HR partner of Canada’s bio-economy” indicates that a third of companies report skill shortages among staff.
Critical skills:
“93.1% of companies expect interpersonal skills to be very important in the near future, closely followed by 91.7% business development skills and 89.1% management/leadership skills.”
Vacant positions:
“The highest percentage of unfilled positions at the supervisory/professional and non-professional levels are in manufacturing, quality control/assurance, distribution, and research and development.”
In an informative post on the topic of growth in STEM careers, Eco Canada recommends that, to get into the field, students should:
1.Prepare: research where the skills shortages are happening — which industries and in which occupations.
2.Look for hands-on experience: consider which schools offer access to the best employers via internships and apprenticeships. Eco Canada offer an International Environmental Youth Corps (IEYC) program, which claims to help most students full-time jobs in their field.after completing their internship.
3.Develop transferable workforce skills: “business savvy” with “good communication skills, critical thinking abilities and customer service skills—in other words, well-rounded candidates with lots to offer besides hard technical skills”.
What can be done for women in STEM?
Seems to me that best tribute to those who were murdered at École Polytechnique on December 6th, 1989 — whose only crime was being female STEM students — is to encourage more women to enter these fields and to help set up the conditions necessary for their success.
One such worthy effort is SCWIST, the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology, which describes itself as a “non-profit association that promotes, encourages and empowers women and girls in science, engineering and technology.” The organization offers mentorship, volunteering opportunities and supports to newcomer scientists and youth, as well as a job board.
STEM Education Awareness is a Canadian website that aims to educate the public about STEM education, with a particular interest in under-represented groups such as girls and women.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada has declared the priority of promoting careers for women in the natural sciences and engineering. It has funded Chairs for women in science and engineering, and offers scholarships and fellowships.
Women who are in the midst of making a career decision — whether they are in high school, university, looking for their first job, or even reconsidering career decisions in mid-life — would do well to consider jobs and careers in STEM fields. There are supports out there to help them find and keep such jobs, and an imperative to defiantly prove those who dare challenge women’s right and ability to excel in STEM careers that they are wrong.
[Originally posted on JVS Career Voice]
SOURCE: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reflections-employment-counsellor-montreal-massacre-lewis-msw/
Overcoming 3 Challenges Facing Women in Technology
Despite progress in employment gender equality, men continue to substantially outnumber women in terms of employment in the tech industry. Many analysts attribute the gender disparity in technical fields to the fact that women study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at a lower rate than men do. Some experts suggest that cultural expectations also influence the gender divide causing women to feel pressured to pursue careers in other industries.
Regardless of having equal or superior skills to their male counterparts, women often feel like societal pressure and cultural norms work against them while seeking employment and advancement in tech careers. Many companies have taken a proactive approach toward gender bias in tech employment by adopting inclusive and collaborative policies that mandate equal treatment for men and women. However, the following three challenges still exist in many settings, but women in IT can overcome them as they pursue a fulfilling and successful career.
1. Inequality and Discrimination
Statistics indicate that women working in IT positions report gender inequality at a higher rate than the overall average among employed women. Networking opportunities and promotions go to men in tech careers at a higher rate than to women. Company events and trade gatherings often provide settings where male tech workers exhibit sexist attitudes and behaviors toward their female colleagues. Meanwhile, employees in the work environment often question whether a woman has the ability to address and resolve technical issues.
Gender discrimination, though illegal, still exists in the job market. Interviewers ask questions about marital and parental status to three-quarters of female applicants. Even when not directly quizzed about their family status, a stunning forty-percent of all women feels like they must carefully guard details about their family during job interviews.
Women who experience discrimination and inequality in the workplace should talk about the issue openly and report it to their supervisor. The company’s responsibility will, then, be to address the issue properly. To prevent such situations from occurring again, business owners need to educate their personnel about gender discrimination and teach them how to recognize and deal with it.
Moreover, business owners and managers who have a healthy attitude toward women in the workplace should set an example for the entire company by behaving in ways that respect all workers and treat everyone working in IT fairly, regardless of gender. Such behavior will also respectfully treat all employees that become mothers and make them feel comfortable and secure while taking leave. Similarly, employers need to adopt flexible scheduling so working mothers don’t feel as though they must neglect their responsibilities to keep their job.
2. Not Fitting In
Women in male-dominated fields such as IT often lack self-confidence and suffer from feelings of inferiority. In a workplace where the great majority of employees are male, women often feel as they don’t fit in. A drastic number of approximately 60 percent of women working in tech report sexual harassment. Although such problems can exist in fields with a higher degree of gender equality, the problem seems worse in IT. Female tech workers have a higher incidence of sexual harassment in IT because fewer targets exist in that profession. The fact that one-third of women IT workers feel unsafe at work illustrates the severity of the problem. This is a serious issue and women should never hesitate to report it to their supervisors.
Additionally, not having a college degree in engineering or computer science can also lead to a workplace atmosphere where women feel as though they don’t fit in. Some women can also experience difficulty staying up-to-date with the latest trends in technology, leading to a skill gap that adds to the challenges they face. Still, women can do IT jobs just as well as men can, as long as they make an effort to develop and maintain their proficiency in required skills.
Luckily, the IT industry usually operates as a meritocracy where employees who deliver consistent results receive favorable treatment regardless of their gender or background. Women can overcome the obstacles they face while working in IT by letting their performance speak for them. Although the strategy doesn’t eradicate gender-based prejudice and discrimination, it allows women to achieve upward mobility.
3. Lack of Support and Understanding
Female IT employees often report feeling as though they don’t have the full support of their coworkers. They also feel a lack of support at home in cases where their family members and friends still embrace cultural biases regarding women in the workforce. Attitudes about the role of women at home often prevent female IT workers from achieving a healthy work-life balance. Also, new mothers often cut short their paid maternity leave because they feel as though they will lose their job or promotion because of their absence.
Handling inequality and discrimination in the workplace is hard on its own, but handling it without any support for the chosen career makes things even harder. Working on improving the quality of family communication can go a long way in making sure that every female IT worker’s family member understands that their job in the IT industry is important to them.
What Else Can Be Done?
IT companies need to recognize and admit to the problem of gender inequality in their IT workforce. They need to diligently transform their corporate culture into one that respects all employees, regardless of gender, and make discrimination and harassment socially unacceptable.
Employers need to create and enforce policies that protect women when they become victims of sexual harassment and discrimination. However, they also need to go beyond forced compliance to fully eliminate gender-related IT employment issues.
Technology exists for men and women and so does IT employment. As companies and families work to erase gender-based prejudices, more women will aspire a career in the tech industry. Girls need positive male and female role models so that they will never consider their gender as a negative attribute. Therefore, schools need to eliminate gender biases to make girls and young women feel comfortable enough to enroll in STEM studies.
Final Word
Women can overcome gender-based challenges in IT right now by focusing on their skills and staying current with industry trends. Still, cultural norms need to change in employment, family and educational settings to permanently eliminate the problem of gender discrimination, so every woman can feel confident, supported and safe as they pursue their dreams. As an atmosphere of equality permeates the workplace culture, women will feel confident because they know their skills and performance determines their success rather than their gender and college degree.
To help young women succeed in technology, IT-oLogy offers WISE (Women in Information Technology Science and Engineering) and the Aspirations in Computing award from NCWIT. The IT field desperately needs the contributions that women bring.
About the Author
Lisa Michaels is a freelance writer, editor and a striving content marketing consultant from Portland. Being self-employed, she does her best to stay on top of the current trends in the business world. She spends her free time trying out new recipes or reading Scandinavian crime novels. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter @LisaBMichaels.
SOURCE: https://www.it-ology.org/2016/09/20/3-challenges-women-in-technology-face/
Tech leaders trying new tactics to get women to consider careers in STEM industries
Anne Gaviola · CBC News · Posted: Sep 26, 2017 5:00 AM ET | Last Updated: September 26, 2017
After hearing that a career in STEM fields doesn’t mean saying goodbye to the things she’s passionate about, Katie Meyer, 19, says a career in tech could still be in her future. (Katie Meyer)
Although Katie Meyer, 19, has considered a career in technology, she isn’t sure it’s in the cards for her.
Three years ago, when she was 16, her mother enrolled her in a coding camp for girls.
“They made it really friendly for people that age, so it was really easy to learn,” Meyer says. “We just sat down and started learning HTML and CSS.”
She decided to pursue coding, so she took a course at her high school. It didn’t go as well. “It was hell on earth! Like, it was awful.”
A little more than one quarter of STEM graduates in Canada are women, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Company. (iStock)
She felt out of her element, and couldn’t quite catch up to the rest of her classmates. She says it didn’t help that she was one of only two girls in that class. “All the guys knew exactly what they were doing.”
Meyer, a history buff, ended up dropping that course and hasn’t pursued coding since. Stories like hers are playing out across the country.
According to consulting firm McKinsey & Company, men vastly outnumber women in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Only 28 per cent of STEM graduates are women, and only 23 per cent of people working in high-paying STEM industries are women.
Industry leaders are trying to improve those statistics and say the best way to get more women into tech is to change the conversation around what tech is — and what it’s not.
Female representation in STEM fields is even lower, at just 23 per cent of all workers, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Company. (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada)
Andrea Stairs, managing director of eBay Canada, spends a lot of time thinking about how to increase the ranks of women in her field.
“I don’t think tech is a particularly friendly environment for women and I think we see that over and over again. It’s depressing,” Stairs says.
Cast wider nets
Ebay has made a commitment to tracking diversity within the company, which employs 12,600 people globally. The last snapshot is from 2016 and it shows that women make up 22 per cent of its tech workforce.
If you look at non-tech roles like human resources and marketing, that number climbs to 48 per cent.
Stairs says tech firms need to cast wider nets when recruiting and be open to bringing on women who may not have experience in STEM, like her.
“My background is in law and finance, ” she explains. “When I joined eBay, I didn’t intend to have a role in technology. But what I found was a really fast-paced energetic business culture that I could contribute to.”
One way to increase gender diversity within tech companies may be to increase awareness about how all-encompassing the industry is becoming. Take for example, Joanna Griffiths, who is the founder and CEO of Knixwear, a company that makes moisture-wicking undergarments.
“If you looked at us from the outside, you’re like ‘that’s not a tech company.’ But underneath the hood, or underneath the clothes, you’d say we’re very much a tech company.”
At the helm of Knixwear, she’s overseeing the kinds of things that STEM CEOs typically do: intellectual property filings, working with York University’s biometric lab and figuring out how to best use artificial intelligence and machine learning for marketing purposes.
She says “tech touches every single component of our organization.”
The CEO of Knixwear, a Canadian company that makes moisture-wicking undergarments, says ‘tech touches every single component of our organization.’ (Knixwear)
While Griffiths was doing her MBA, she knew that business was her forte. But it took a real-life example to drive home the idea that tech could be part of the equation for her. That came in the form of the founder of Spanx, the maker of those body-shaping undergarments.
“Sara Blakely, the woman who founded Spanx, who is the youngest self-made female billionaire in the history of the United States, was getting a ton of press coverage around her company. And here was someone that I identified with,” she says.
Spanx probably isn’t what springs to mind when you think of a tech company. But the research and development that goes into creating and manufacturing that intimate apparel is comparable to what a traditional tech company goes through to make your favourite tech gadget.
Undergarment company Spanx isn’t a conventional technology firm but the obstacles that founder Sara Blakely had to overcome to get the company off the ground are similar to those that many tech firms experience. (Reuters)
Stairs says female leaders currently working in the STEM field need to get their message out to young girls. That means telling them tech “isn’t just the domain of gamers and folks that are interested in robotics.”
Stairs says this notion that a career in STEM fields means they have to give up the things they’re interested in, is outdated.
“It’s also fashion and health and beauty and sports.”
Young women need to be taught at an early age that technology “isn’t just the domain of gamers and folks that are interested in robotics,” eBay Canada’s Andrea Stairs says. (Nancy Russell/CBC)
For Meyer, hearing that a career in STEM fields doesn’t mean saying goodbye to the things she’s passionate about, put a smile on her face and the idea that a career in tech could still be part of her future.
“I’m so into fashion, makeup and theatre,” she says exuberantly.
About the Author
Anne Gaviola
Producer, On The Money on CBC News Network
Anne Gaviola is a hunter, gatherer and teller of stories. Follow her on Twitter @AnneGaviola, on Instagram at annegeewhiz
SOURCE: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/stem-women-training-jobs-1.4300591
By Dr Maryse Lassonde, Scientific Director of Les Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT) and President of the Royal Society of Canada
On 11 February, the world will be celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science. There will be lots of articles and speeches about the famous “leaky pipeline”, a metaphor used to describe the constant flow of women leaving the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) throughout their studies and careers.
Let’s be honest – you cannot “plug the leaks” with policy fixes. In Quebec and Canada, we have an impressive array of policies and projects to promote gender equality that span across almost every ministry. Yet the data show that there has been little, if any, progress in the number of women pursuing STEM over the past 20 to 30 years.
UNESCO – Women In Science Interactive
What are we doing wrong and what are we doing right? I cannot tell you because we have no way to measure the impact of our efforts. But by working with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), we are about to transform that patchwork of policies into a comprehensive framework based on solid data.
Quebec has joined SAGA – STEM and Gender Advancement – an initiative lead by the UIS and UNESCO with financing by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). We are joining about 10 countries and regional organizations to develop a toolkit of methodologies and frameworks to produce more precise data to better target policies.
Our first workshop, held in Montreal on 1 February, surpassed all expectations. While the initiative is being led by two organizations (Les Fonds de recherche du Québec and le Ministère de l’Économie, de la Science et de l’Innovation), we had scientists and policymakers from all fields – even the transport sector. Best of all, they came with the same agenda: to break out of their individual boxes and work together.
Why do so few women make it to the top?
I needed this boost of inspiration. When I started my career, there were flagrant salary gaps between women and men in science. This is starting to level off but unfortunately very few women make it to the top. They have great local networks but lack the international exposure that brings wider recognition and citation of their work.
Why? Many factors shape career decisions. For example, women are often torn by their responsibilities at home. So we put in place more family-friendly policies, like enabling researchers to get reimbursed for childcare expenses while traveling to conferences. But this is not enough.
I think the biggest problem is a lack of confidence. Women often feel that they are just not good enough. So they are reluctant to apply for top positions or wait for others to submit their candidatures for awards. For example, one of the most prestigious and general research awards available, the Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program, includes just one woman out of 27 laureates.
It takes tremendous courage to break into fields traditionally dominated by men. Numerous studies have shown the effects of stereotypes and how they lead to different reactions to very common scenarios, like the opening of a high-profile position. Studies show that a woman with 90% of the experience is likely to tell herself that she doesn’t have all the skills and decides not to apply. Whereas a man with 70% of the skills will feel that he must apply.
No quick fixes – we need data to measure the impact of policies
We need to take a proactive approach to encourage women to assert themselves – to apply for the top jobs, research grants and awards. There are many ways to cultivate this shift through, for example, the prominence of female role models during the education of girls and careers of women. But we need to constantly review and evaluate the impact of these policies to stay on track.
This is where SAGA comes in. It offers a framework to link objectives to policies and data. Personally, I think the most important area of work focuses on the role of women in entrepreneurship and technology. This is where the money and jobs are now and will be in the future. Yet even in Scandinavian countries, which are in many ways the leaders in gender equality, women are not getting ahead in these areas.
Once again, there are no quick fixes. But by using data, we can transform our patchwork of policies into a concerted strategy with data to show us what works and what doesn’t. It is not enough to say that 20 women received grants to study abroad. The measure of success is: did they pursue their fields afterward or not? Hard questions demand hard data.
Engendering Success in STEM is a research consortium devoted to testing the long-term efficacy of interventions that harness the power of positive social interactions to mitigate subtle gender bias. Our ultimate goal is to understand and combat the various ways that cultural biases stand in the way of creating inclusive cultures for women and men in STEM.
Learn more: http://successinstem.ca/about/
This gender equality training tool is designed to stimulate investment in the gender equality skills of policymakers and public administration employees and to facilitate the process of designing effective gender equality training. The guidelines provide a set of standards to commission effective gender equality training. Whereas previous studies focus on the content of gender equality training or the profile of gender equality trainers, these guidelines consider the specific role and needs of commissioning authorities at different stages of the gender competence development process.
SOURCE: http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/genderequalitytrainingtoolkit.pdf
A Planning Resource Guide for Employees and Employers: This guide is designed to assist engineers and geoscientists who are considering a maternity or parental leave. It is also designed to assist their employers.
SOURCE: https://engineerscanada.ca/sites/default/files/Managing-Transitions-en.pdf
These 10 countries have the best parental leave policies in the world
Chris Weller
Aug. 22, 2016, 3:23 PM
America does plenty of things well, but paid parental leave isn’t one of them.
Out of the world’s 196 countries, the US is one of only four that has no federally mandated policy to give new parents paid time off. That burden is placed on individual states and employers.
But some countries really prioritize the well-being of new parents — both straight and same-sex — granting them more than a year of leave at full pay.
If you’re thinking of starting a family, here are the ideal places to call home.
Finland
Expecting mothers in Finland can start their maternity leaveseven weeks before their estimated due date.
After that the government covers 16 additional weeks of paid leave through a maternity grant, regardless of whether the mother is a student, unemployed, or self-employed. The country also offers eight weeks of paid paternity leave.
After a child turns three, parents can also take partial care leave, in which they split time between home and work. That lasts until the child starts second grade.
Denmark
New moms in Denmark get a total of 18 weeks of maternity leave: four weeks before the birth and 14 weeks after, all at full pay. During the 14-week period, the father can also take two consecutive weeks off.
From that point on, parents can split 32 additional weeks of leave however they see fit. They can extend the leave for another 14 weeks if the child or parent gets sick. By law, the government covers 52 weeks of pay, though not always at the full salary.
Sweden
New parents in Sweden are entitled to 480 days of leave at 80% of their normal pay. That’s on top of the 18 weeks reserved just for mothers, after which the parents can split up the time however they choose.
Sweden is unique in that dads also get 90 paid paternity days reserved just for them. The idea is to promote bonding between father and child during a time when moms are getting most of the attention.
Belgium
Mothers in Belgium can take up to 15 weeks for maternity leave — for the first 30 days after the child is born, they get paid 80% of their salary, and they get 75% for the rest of the time. Dads are given 10 days, three of which are 100% pay. The remaining seven are paid at 82% their salary if they use them during the baby’s first four months.
If they want, moms can take eight months of part-time leave instead of the 15 full weeks.
Iceland
Icelandic parents can split their nine months of post-childbirth leave straight down the middle.
New moms get three months, new dads get three months, and then it’s up to the couple to decide how they’ll split the remaining three months. Neither parent can transfer any portion of their three-month chunk, however, as the government wants to ensure both parents can work and that kids get to spend time with both.
Each parent receives 80% of their salary while on leave.
Serbia
Mothers can take 20 weeks of fully paid leave after giving birth.
After that, they get an additionally full year of leave, but compensation diminishes over time. They receive 100% pay for the first 26 weeks, 60% for weeks 27-39, and 30% for weeks 40-52.
Fathers get one week of fully paid leave.
Norway
Norway’s system is flexible and generous. Mothers can take 35 weeks at full pay or 45 weeks at 80% pay, and fathers can take between zero and 10 weeks depending on their wives’ income.
Together, parents can receive an additional 46 weeks at full pay or 56 weeks at 80% of their income.
Hungary
Hungarian moms get 24 weeks of paid leave at 70% of their salary, which can start up to four weeks before the expected delivery date. Fathers get one week paid in full.
After the 24 weeks of maternity leave, parents can take another 156 weeks, split between them. The time off is paid at 70% of their salary for 104 weeks, and a flat rate covers the rest.
Estonia
Mothers in Estonia are given 140 days of fully paid pregnancy and maternity leave, which may begin 30-70 daysbefore the expected delivery date.
Similar to the Nordic countries to the north, fathers in Estonia are given two weeks of paid time off to promote extra bonding with their child. They can also chose to take some of the time off during the final two months before the expected delivery date.
After maternity leave ends, parents get an additional 435 days off to share, with compensation calculated at the average of their two earnings.
Lithuania
Nordic countries get a lot of attention for their generous leave policies, but Lithuania may beat them all.
New moms get 18 weeks of fully paid leave, new fathers get four weeks, and together the parents get an additional 156 weeks to share.
For the shared portion, the parents can decide whether to have it paid out at 100% for the first 52 weeks (until the child is turns 1) or 70% for the first 104 weeks (until the child is 2 years old). The remaining weeks are unpaid.
SOURCE: http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-with-best-parental-leave-2016-8
For years, companies, universities and nonprofits have researched the reasons why women are less likely to enter STEM fields — and why, once they enter, they face challenges that frequently push them out. In prior research, we at the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) found that women leave STEM fields in droves: 52% of highly qualified women working for science, technology, or engineering companies leave their jobs. We, and others, have found that the cultures surrounding women in STEM have been shown, time and again, to be particularly challenging.
Yet many other women have managed to build highly successful careers with degrees in STEM disciplines. How did they do it? A new research study I led at CTI uncovers, through a nationally representative survey of 3,212 individuals with STEM credentials, and through dozens of additional interviews and focus group conversations, the differentiators of success for women in STEM.
We define success in a straightforward way: satisfaction with your job, respect for your expertise, and a senior-level position. We find that about 1/5 of women currently employed in STEM meet that bar. To understand how they do it, we examined what differentiates successful women from other women in STEM, and identified six key things.
It’s impossible to prove through data analysis whether these strategies got these women ahead, or whether achieving a more successful position allowed them to flourish in these ways. But after ten years of studying and consulting with women in tech companies, and from interviews and focus groups, I can confidently conclude that these six strategies help women in STEM achieve success, regardless of how supportive — or hostile — their company cultures may be.
Telegraph confidence. In their book The Confidence Code, Katty Kay and Claire Shipman make a research-backed case that many professional women suffer from a lack of confidence. In STEM, women’s confidence has long been under assault from implications and overt insults that women are less likely to succeed, and even suggestions that “innate” differences between men and women make women less suited for STEM careers. More recent research suggests that messages in recruiting for women in STEM often reinforces the notion that men are naturally better in those fields. No wonder that fewer than 2 in 10 women in STEM who have notachieved success report being extremely confident in their abilities. Among women who have achieved success in STEM, 39% report such confidence. Still a minority — but a far larger one.
Claim credit for your ideas. In STEM fields, the ideas that spark innovation are currency, markers of exceptional colleagues. Yet 82% of women in STEM say their contributions are ignored. We hear, in interviews and focus groups, that women are consistently spoken over and even robbed of their ideas. Feeling unheard can be particularly distressing — and disengaging. A common response is to let the incident pass without comment: nearly 3 in 10 women who have experienced this say the last time it happened to them, they said nothing.
But we find that successful women in STEM are more likely to speak up when they’re overlooked. In response to the most recent time their contributions were ignored, 40% of them confronted the situation, compared to only 26% of other women in STEM. These confrontations can be quick and tactful. For example, Dr. Velma Deleveaux, a director at Booz Allen Hamilton, leads a Science and Engineering business. If someone repeats her idea after she’s already shared it as if it were their own, she reengages and says, “I’m so glad you agree with the idea I introduced earlier. Let me share some additional thoughts.” This way, Deleveaux reclaims credit for the idea, demonstrates her ability to advance it, and continues to move the conversation forward.
Invest in peer networks. Networking can sometimes seem uncomfortable or transactional, especially to those of us who aren’t naturally extroverted. The fact is, building relationships with others increases trust, leading to buy-in and results. In our research, we find that successful women invest deeply in peer networks. They’re more likely than other STEM women to help peers connect to senior leaders, to risk their own reputations to advocate for the ideas and skills of their peers, and to help them recover their reputations after making a mistake. These are some big risks they take on behalf of their colleagues — demonstrating a deep level of trust that their own reputations won’t be damaged as a result.
The deep investment pays off. In return, women we surveyed who have achieved success in STEM are more likely to have peers who back their ideas in meetings than other women in STEM, and are more likely to have peers who ensure they receive credit for their ideas. Not only do successful women in STEM build lateral networks that ensure they get credit and backing for their ideas in meetings, their networks also deliver access to the corridors of power. Half of successful women in STEM say peers connected them to senior leaders (compared with 36% of other women).
Build up protégés. A majority of successful women in STEM report sponsoring someone at their companies (only 37% of other women in STEM do the same). As sponsors, they are giving meaningful advocacy to others within the organization. They’re more likely to advocate for their protégé’s next promotion, identify weak spots in their protégé’s performance and help fix them, and defend their protégé when they stumble. But this sponsorship isn’t merely altruistic. Instead, as we discovered in interviews, many successful STEM women have discovered that sponsoring others helps them build their own reputations as leaders who groom great talent — and can also help them keep their own skills current and sharp.
For example, Susan Penfield, executive vice president and chief innovation officer at Booz Allen Hamilton, recruited to the company a protégé who had expertise in health-related data and systems — which happened to be an area Penfield needed to learn more about. Not only did Penfield help position her for an executive role in the company, she provided guidance and room for her protégé to learn on the job, helping her with scaling an agenda in a large organization. Meanwhile, she broadened Penfield’s knowledge about healthcare systems, strengthening her ability to take on an even bigger role. Today, both women continue to advance, and have built strong relationships and reputations with the company’s senior-most leadership.
Be authentic. Many think it’s necessary to bend over backwards to fit in at work, but a woman who’s achieved success in STEM is more likely to bring her authentic self to work, even if she must tweak a bit for the workplace. A striking 78% of successful STEM women said they are their authentic selves at work, compared to 58% of other women in STEM. For example, Rosa Ramos-Kwok, managing director of Bank of America’s Consumer and Shared Services Operations Technology, shared with us that her leadership style is to listen to the concerns of people she’s supervising before working with them to help formulate her vision for an organization. Prior to joining Bank of America, she was placed in charge of an all-male team, and a colleague suggested she act tougher. Ramos-Kwok resisted that advice. Instead, she emphasized communication and team work, working with her new direct reports to work together to solve problems rather than compete for her approval. Sticking with her authentic, collaborative leadership style paid off: Ramos-Kwok won over the team and developed a reputation as an exceptional leader, leading to further management opportunities.
Hone your brand. Successful women in STEM tend to go beyond their job title or description. It is important to not shy away from owning how important their contributions are because that nurtures and is essential to their personal brands and reputations. Amy Villasenor, Senior Engineer at Qualcomm, says that over time, she realized that what drew her to her work was not just her technical expertise, but the purpose it served. She’s driven by the way technology can shape people’s lives throughout the world, and has gotten comfortable talking about that. Once she embraced that sense of purpose and started framing her vision for projects that way, her leadership brand evolved. “I’m often described as passionate and driven, and I think that is because I’m not afraid to let my passion come through in everything I do. It’s allowed me to focus on the reach and impact of the work,” she says.
Successful women in STEM take a number of steps to nurture their personal brands, often more so than other women in STEM. They speak on panels, sit on boards, and make their credentials or accomplishments known. They meet with external contacts or stay in touch with recruiters and headhunters in order to stay relevant in their industry. They volunteer for leadership positions within an Employee Resource Group (ERG) or affinity group, and attend conferences and networking events. They are also open about parts of their personal lives that connect them to others at the company.
Women in STEM have one of the toughest — and, potentially, most rewarding — jobs in the world. But how to reap the rewards is far from clear, especially in a male-dominated environment. The onus to improving gender diversity in STEM shouldn’t solely be placed on women’s shoulders, but systemic change can be slow. For women who want to become power players today, even if they find themselves in tough company cultures, embracing and embodying these success factors can help.
Laura Sherbin, PhD, is co-president of the Center for Talent Innovation. She is an economist who specializes in the creation of competitive advantage through inclusion and diversity.
SOURCE: https://hbr.org/2018/04/6-things-successful-women-in-stem-have-in-common
Despite 20 years of gender-balancing policies, province struggles to attract, retain women in STEM fields
Posted: Mar 08, 2017
Karina Bagryan and Fariha Kamal from the Women in Engineering group at Concordia University visited Vanier College on International Women’s Day to encourage women to study engineering. (Jaela Bernstien/CBC)
Getting women to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and math — often referred to as STEM — has inspired official policies and grassroots efforts for years, but lackluster results are pushing the government into high-gear to confront the problem.
Over the past 20 years, many of Quebec’s ministries have enacted gender-related policies to encourage women to join their teams but the results are weak, said Maryse Lassonde, the scientific director at Quebec’s ministry promoting research in STEM fields, FRQNT.
Lassonde said most ministries are working to promote women, but blindly — they’re not sure which policies are paying off and which are a waste of time.
“We are trying to increase the number of women getting into science but the statistics haven’t changed in 20 years,” Lassonde said.
“So it’s really discouraging.”
The ‘leaky pipeline’
Not only are fewer women interested in studying these fields than men but over the course of their studies and careers, many drop out.
It’s being called “the leaky pipeline” among those studying the issue and efforts to find out where the leaks are have been gaining momentum globally.
A Montreal-based United Nations agency, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), is helping shed light on the problem with their SAGA project, which aims to understand why women are underrepresented in STEM fields around the world.
According to UIS, only about 30 per cent of the world’s researchers are women.
The agency has been courting countries around the world to take part in its STEM research.
Working with Quebec is proving mutually beneficial because the province already has so many policies in place.
“We’re seeing what Quebec is doing and how we can improve the project,” said UIS SAGA researcher Kim Deslandes.
The results are expected to be online next spring.
By that time, Quebec’s ministries will have pooled their knowledge together to figure out which policies work.
”It’s not that the efforts are not being made, it’s that it’s so difficult,” Lassonde said.
Students inspiring students
Advocates of women in STEM say that from childhood, girls often don’t see themselves as engineers or mathematicians.
So students and women in those fields are taking it upon themselves to address that part of the problem.
Concordia University’s Women in Engineering student group goes to CEGEPs and high schools to talk about their field and drum up awareness among younger women.
“Parents would come up to us because they’re engineers or professors and they want their daughters to take an interest in engineering,” co-president of the group Fariha Kamal, 22, said.
“Then I’d speak to the daughters and they’d say ‘I don’t see myself in it.'”
Canada falling behind?
The group’s other co-president, Karina Bagryan, 26, is from Russia and was surprised by the culture around STEM here.
“[In Russia] there were a lot of girls who were in engineering and I never knew it was an issue until I came to Canada,” Bagryan said.
Professor and associate chair of electrical and computer engineering at Concordia, Anjali Agarwal, agrees there’s something about how these fields are perceived here which fails young women.
She said that in her native India women have no trouble seeing themselves in STEM, but in Canada it’s still an uphill battle.
“There is a family root cause. Daughters need to be encouraged,” Agarwal said.
“There is a culture in Canada. If women are interested in science, they go into medicine, or health-related areas. They don’t see technology as a career.”
Agarwal and the women in her faculty have formed a committee working to recruit and retain female students.
This includes a new summer camp for girls which will be based out of the university and every day give the teenage girls a sample of different engineering fields — from electrical engineering to game development.
But even with programs that show women can have fulfilling careers in STEM, and government policies supporting their advancement, the extent of the barriers show a long road ahead.
According to the UIS, beyond policies and motivation, women run into a myriad of other unique roadblocks.
They include starting a career and a family at the same time, special financial considerations, workplace cultures like the pervasive “old boys club” of men promoting men and of course, flat-out discrimination.
Lassonde with the FRQNT says the “unconscious bias” against women in science remains widespread — and that the bias exists in both genders.
“We know that women tend not to judge their potential as being as vast as it is,” Lassonde said.
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SOURCE: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/stem-gender-women-science-quebec-1.4013958