The phrase ‘seeing is believing’ is too often splashed across ad campaigns or sewn onto novelty cushions. But despite its tedious overuse, it remains remarkably true: being able to visualize yourself achieving a certain result dramatically improves your chances of actually doing it. This is particularly relevant in industries where equal representation remains a pipedream, such as in the world of technology. Role models have the ability to influence our decision-making. Seeing someone that looks like you, sounds like you, or that shares a similar background to you doing something admirable works as visual proof that you can do it too. It provides confirmation that your goals are attainable. The power of visualization is staggering: it can transform whole belief systems, demolish preconceptions, and inspire and motivate the next generation of doers to dream big and work hard. It can also help in planning career paths, overcoming set-backs, taking risks and staying motivated in the knowledge that the destination is within arm’s reach. The stark lack of gender diversity in technology is sadly nothing new. The European Commission estimates that women constitute 17% of IT specialists, and that 91% of raised capital in 2020 European tech was given to founding teams comprised solely of men. There are many contributing factors to this sad state of affairs, and being part of such a minority can be both intimidating and dissuading. The power of representation is one of many effective tools for making lasting change. Having greater visibility of successful women within the industry is a way to hammer home the fact that technology is not reserved for those who fit an outdated, stereotypical, ‘male, stale and pale’ mould.

COVID has compounded the disproportional stress women face in the IT workplace, putting careers at risk, as well as nearly a decade of progress toward gender equity. With the need to keep organizations humming through a global pandemic, this past year has placed considerable stress on IT professionals. Taken in total, however, the strains of adjusting to life and work under COVID-19 have fallen disproporationally on women in IT. A survey of 450 tech professionals by TrustRadius found that 57% of women report feeling burned out at work this year as a result of the pandemic, compared to 36% of men. Central to this has been an imbalance in added responsibilities due to the pandemic, both at home and in the workplace. Forty-three percent of women surveyed by TrustRadius report taking on extra responsibilities at work in the past year, compared to 33% of men. At home, 29% of women have taken on a greater childcare burden, versus 19% of men who said the same. And 42% of women have taken on the bulk of the housework during the pandemic, compared to 11% of men. Moreover, women have been twice as likely as men to have lost their jobs or been furloughed during the pandemic. All told, nearly 3 million American women have left the workforce, whether due to layoffs or having chosen to leave their jobs as a result of the added responsibilities.

With all its horrific challenges, an unforeseen upside of covid is that it forced us to enter a global village. Astonishingly, it opened doors for us in ways we couldn’t have imagined … created opportunities to expand our horizons. Women around the globe were called upon to use our ingenuity and re-harness technology … to create workarounds … and discover new and better ways of doing things. So come share your talents and triumphs at witi this june - and let 's celebrate ingenuity! The witi (women in technology international) 27th annual summit will feature insights, inspirations, and action items from tech-savvy women worldwide.

If/ThenSheCan -- The Exhibit" at NorthPark Center in Dallas features life-size statues of women STEM stars. The bright orange sculptures were created by 3D scanning and 3D printing. The exhibit is sponsored by Lyda Hill Philanthropies in partnership with NorthPark. The bright orange sculptures created by 3D scanning and 3D printing are designed to inspire girls (and boys, too) to think about the careers they can have if they add science, technology, engineering and math to their playlist. The exhibit is sponsored by Lyda Hill Philanthropies in partnership with NorthPark. It’s being heralded as the largest collection of female statues ever assembled in one place and is the centerpiece of the Dallas-based foundation’s encompassing multimedia If/Then Initiative. There are more than 100 statues in the mall’s central courtyard, and another 14 stand resolutely at the base of the food court and theater escalator. Each has a QR code that links to a webpage of background, photos, videos and stories.

Tory Burch has helped thousands of women entrepreneurs through her eponymous foundation and its education programs, but very few recipients of her coveted one-year business fellowship have founded biotech or science-based companies. Jennifer Doudna, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and cofounder of genomics technology company Caribou Biosciences, says “being a brilliant scientist doesn’t automatically make someone a brilliant business person.” Saklayen will receive $10,000 for business education, up to $50,000 in research supplies, and access to other Tory Burch fellows as well as the Innovative Genomics Institute‘s network of scientists. The institute is a nonprofit, academic research organization founded by Doudna with an aim of applying research to real-world problems.

The NCWIT Pioneer in Tech Award recognizes technical women whose lifetime contributions have significantly impacted the landscape of technological innovation, amplifying the importance of capitalizing on the diverse perspectives that girls and women can bring to the table. Pioneer in Tech Award recipients also serve as role models whose legacies continue to inspire generations of young women to pursue computing and make history in their own right. Dr. Gladys West started her career at Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia, now called the Naval Surface Warfare Center, in 1956, and she worked there for 42 years as a mathematician and computer programmer. When she began, she was the second Black woman ever to be hired at the site, and one of only four Black employees total. Inspired by the civil rights movement that was unfolding around her, she countered prejudice within her workplace through hard work and intellectual achievement.

Izšla je 13. številka novičnika Spol in znanost na ZRC SAZU, ki informira o dejavnostih Inštituta za kulturne in spominske študije ZRC SAZU in ZRC SAZU na področju raziskovanja spolov in enakih možnosti v akademski sferi. V majski izdaji nadaljujemo s pisanjem o spolnem nadlegovanju v akademskem okolju, pišemo o smernicah za enakost spolov v kulturi, v njem najdete povezave na razne intervjuje, okrogle mize, posnetke konferenc na temo enakosti spolov in še marsikaj drugega. V tokratnem novičniku si lahko preberete delček prispevka o delu računalničarke dr. Borke Džonove Jerman Blažič, ki bo objavljen v zborniku z delovnim naslovom Naše pomembne znanstvenice. Zbornik, ki je v pripravi, bo zajemal prispevke o znanstvenicah, ki so pomembno prispevale k razvoju znanosti na področju nekdanje Jugoslavije. Tako kot v prejšnjih številkah objavljamo tudi informacije o štipendijah za raziskovalke in raziskovalce na začetku karierne pot.

Alana Karen wrote the “Adventures of Women in Tech: How We Got Here and Why We Stay” to diversify the stories we hear of women navigating their careers in tech. With a clear message of ‘you belong in tech’, she continues to explore that narrative. You can join her as she speaks in-depth with seven women about the challenges and joys we’ve found in our careers and what’s next both for us and the world around us.

It’s now long overdue for women thriving in technology to be the norm, rather than the exception. The numbers still highlight the frustratingly long battle we’ve got ahead of us, with The European Commission estimating that only 17% of IT specialists are female. In 2019, a staggering 91% of tech investment in Europe went to all male-founded teams. There are a number of components that contribute to this gender chasm in the tech sector, but one thing we know for sure is that fixing the problem starts long before an imbalance in the boardroom. Untangling systemic issues is challenging, but it’s clear that from a young age children absorb countless cultural ideas about who they are, based on their gender. From TV shows to books, toys to dressing-up costumes, young children are persistently bombarded with distinct notions of ‘boy’ and ‘girl’. For example, The Institution of Engineering and Technology found that 31% of STEM toys are listed as items ‘for boys’, whereas only 11% are ‘for girls’. Similarly, a number of studies have found that when asked to draw a scientist or mathematician, girls are twice as likely to draw a male figure than a female one, while boys almost always draw men (usually donning lab coats and glasses, epitomizing their narrow perception). The gendered messaging that children unconsciously digest is clearly both powerful and damaging. It becomes what is known in psychology as the ‘stereotype threat’: where negative stereotypes feed into an individual’s inhibiting doubts, which then have a direct and negative impact on their performance. The stereotype threat dampens enthusiasm and belittles self-confidence by telling children that their biology will dictate their abilities, pursuits and choices in life. For girls, this is hugely detrimental.

New data highlight minorities and women in science, along with one particularly understudied group: scientists with disabilities. Academic science is much more diverse than it was a generation ago, even if it still has a ways to go. That’s according to a new report on women, minorities and people with disabilities from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics at the National Science Foundation. The share of academic jobs held by female doctorates in science, engineering and health fields increased from 26 percent in 1999 to 39 percent in 2019. Underrepresented minorities hold more of these jobs now than in 1999, but their share - 9 percent - is still “considerably less” than their share of the population, according to the NSF. By comparison, underrepresented minorities make up one-third of the U.S. The share of academic scientists with one or more disabilities also increased over the same period, to 9 percent. Their share of the general population is about 11 percent. Numerous equity and inclusion advocates within the sciences said they welcomed the NSF's report, which helps shed light on historically excluded groups within the sciences, particularly on one understudied group: scientists with disabilities.