Don't miss out on this wonderful professional development opportunity! SWE's Executive Leadership Program (eXXec) focuses on empowering women who aspire to executive status. Find out more about the program and register.

A large, comprehensive study reveals what privilege looks like in science: straight, white men who are not disabled get more pay, greater respect and a wealth of career opportunities compared with all other groups. A large, comprehensive study reveals what privilege looks like in science: straight, white men who are not disabled get more pay, greater respect and a wealth of career opportunities compared with all other groups. Past studies have shown how sexism, racism and other types of discrimination separately contribute to inequality in academia. But sociologist Erin Cech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor compared the experiences of researchers who fit along a spectrum of 32 intersecting identities. She analysed data from a survey of roughly 25,300 researchers working in sectors including academia, industry and government in the United States, conducted between 2017 and 2019. The study was published in Science Advances last month.

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) had call upon Congress to reach a final agreement by the end of July on H.R. 4521, the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act, and S. 1260, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). “The need for this legislation is broadly recognized, and delay or failure should not be an option. We believe sensible bipartisan compromises can be reached on many of the outstanding issues and that a final agreement coupled with supplemental funding would bolster U.S. competitiveness, address supply chain issues, and enhance U.S. security,” the letter reads. Congress is at the cusp of making major policy improvements and much-needed investments that will enable the U.S. to remain the global leader in science and technology. Without these improvements, however, the U.S. stands to not only lose its status as global innovator, but lose scientific talent seeking opportunity elsewhere. “American scientific excellence and technological leadership is not magically sustained – it is fostered by policy that nurtures and funds innovation. Congress should make a down payment on American competitiveness, sponsor a generation of world-class technological talent, and let the fruits of that talent make the case for America’s competitive edge,” says FAS CEO Dan Correa. “The need for a new American investment in research and development is widely recognized, so what better moment for Congress to invest than now? The bipartisan bills before Congress share a similar goal – to supercharge American science. Congress should seize the moment and make the robust investments we need,” says FAS Associate Director of Research & Development and Advanced Industry Matt Hourihan.

Microsoft and International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners are offering complimentary training on Microsoft Business Applications and a chance to put your resume in front of hiring companies. Get trained and get a huge professional advantage! Who should apply? Unemployed at the moment and looking to learn new skills or return to work, Recent tech grads looking to learn new skill sets, Experienced professionals who are thinking about a career switch. Hiring companies include Alithya Avanade Capgemini Cognizant Mazars in US Sikich LLP Stoneridge Software Sunrise Technologies Visionet Western Computer and more! If you’re looking to advance your career, find new career opportunities, or simply learn new skills!

Often, how we see ourselves is not synonymous with how others see us. How do you present yourself to the world? In this digital age of social media, having a strong online presence can allow for more opportunities. Branding is the best way to give your audience insight into who you are and what you offer. It’s also a wonderful way to inspire others to connect to and act on your desired goals. In the age of technology, researchers and non-researchers alike can benefit from crafting their own social media brands. Jazmine Benjamin will provide tools and action items to create your own brand, expand your network, and foster collaborations. Learning Objectives: What a brand is and how that applies to social media; Things to consider when creating your brand; Tips for branding yourself on popular social media platforms; Tools for building your platforms and maintaining consistency. Participants can use these skills to create social media accounts and websites that foster collaborative projects, research grants, and expand their networks.

Racial bias and prejudice can be present in all sectors of business and institutions. Since the uprisings of 2020, many professionals have wondered how to get involved in social justice and anti-racism. If you ever asked yourself, “How do I become an ally,” this webinar is for you.

Ukrainian number theorist Maryna Viazovska is among the four winners of the 2022 Fields Medal, one of the highest honours in mathematics, which is conventionally awarded to people under 40. The other winners are James Maynard, a number theorist at the University of Oxford, UK; June Huh, a specialist in combinatorics at Princeton University in New Jersey; and Hugo Duminil-Copin, who studies statistical physics at the Institute of Advanced Scientific Studies near Paris. The International Mathematical Union (IMU) announced the winners at an award ceremony in Helsinki on 5 July. Viazovska, who is based at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), is the second woman ever to earn the award. She is best known for her solution to the sphere-packing problem - finding the arrangement of spheres that can take up the largest portion of a volume - in eight dimensions.

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) has named Dr. Tiffany Barnes, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at North Carolina State University, the recipient of the 2022 Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award. NCWIT has also named Dr. Christine Alvarado, Associate Dean for Students of the Jacobs School of Engineering and Teaching Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, the recipient of the 2022 NCWIT Joanne McGrath Cohoon Service Award. The Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award is sponsored by the NCWIT Board of Directors and recognizes faculty members from non-profit institutions who distinguish themselves through outstanding research and excellent graduate mentoring, as well as those who recruit, encourage, and promote women and minorities in computing. It is given in memory of Mary Jean Harrold and David Notkin, to honor their outstanding research, graduate mentoring, and diversity contributions.

Katya Echazarreta previously worked at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is pursuing her master's in engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and is a popular SciCommer on TikTok. Now she became the first-ever Mexican-born woman to go to space!A rocket built by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin carried its fifth group of passengers to the edge of space, including the first-ever Mexican-born woman to make such a journey. The 60-foot-tall suborbital rocket took off from Blue Origin's facilities in West Texas at 9:26am ET, vaulting a group of six people to more than 62 miles above the Earth's surface - which is widely deemed to make the boundary of outer space - and giving them a few minutes of weightlessness before parachuting to landing. Most of the passengers paid an undisclosed sum for their seats. But Katya Echazarreta, an engineer and science communicator from Guadalajara, Mexico, was selected by a nonprofit called Space for Humanity to join this mission from a pool of thousands of applicants. The organization's goal is to send "exceptional leaders" to space and allow them to experience the overview effect, a phenomenon frequently reported by astronauts who say that viewing the Earth from space give them a profound shift in perspective.

Women are more likely to win awards that aren’t named after a person than prizes named after a man, research has found. The study1, presented on 25 May at the European Geoscience Union (EGU) general assembly in Vienna, reviewed almost 9,000 recipients across roughly 350 awards in the fields of Earth and environmental sciences and cardiology, as well as those given out by national scientific bodies in the United Kingdom and United States. The study has yet to be published. It found that women have received only around 15% of these awards, going back to the eighteenth century. For the 214 awards that are named after men, female winners fall to just 12% (see ‘Award winners by gender’). But women were the winners 24% of the time for the 93 awards not named after anyone - a trend that was consistent over time, says Stefan Krause, an Earth and environmental scientist at the University of Birmingham, UK, who presented the research at the EGU meeting. The results suggest that there might be a link between the name of an award and who receives it, he says. “If the awards are not named after a person, the gender balance in prizes is more balanced,” he adds.