September 5th 2017 



Spotlight Speakers!
Patrice D'Eramo
Vice President, Cisco Americas Marketing
Cisco
Anna Matuszewska, Ph.D.
Vice President Talent Management
UL
Register for the Million Women Mentors Summit and Awards HERE


Pleasse make hotel reservations at one of the following hotels:
Welcome to MWM-Wyoming! Million Women Mentors is just getting started in Wyoming and has set a pledge goal of 3,000. MWM-WY will be focusing on connecting the University of Wyoming to local communities, and utilizing university resources for advancing women and girls in STEM.
MWM-WY is in the process of putting together a Steering Committee. If you are interested in participating, please contact [email protected] .

MWM-WY is being led by Jaycey Lindsey. Jaycey is a graduate student in Agricultural Economics at the University of Wyoming. As Miss Wyoming International 2017, she is excited to use her position as a unique platform to promote women and girls in STEM. Jaycey is joined by co-Chair Lindsey Allbright, a third grader teacher in Wyoming with a passion for STEM as well.
Future City: Students Imagine, Research & Design Sustainable Cities of the Future
Future City is one of the nation’s leading engineering education programs and has received national recognition for its role in encouraging middle schoolers to develop their interest in STEM.
The program gives students the opportunity to imagine, research, design, and build cities of the future that showcase their solution to a citywide sustainability issue.
Student teams identify an age-related challenge that exists in today’s urban environments and engineer two innovative solutions that allow their future city’s senior citizens to be as active and independent as they want to be. Past topics include storm-water management, urban agriculture, public spaces, and green energy.
Teams complete a virtual city design, an essay, a scale model, a project plan, and a presentation to judges at a regional competition. Winners have the opportunity to compete in Finals in Washington, DC.
To learn more about Future City, and to get involved, visit FutureCity.org
Proven Strategies to Prepare Students for CS Careers
On August 9th at 11:00 AM, four incredible educational thought leaders spoke on their signature statewide and other initiatives to help prepare students for the 21st Century Workforce. This webinar focuses on the importance of computer science and career awareness for students.

Moderated by: Former US Congressman Zach Wamp
Speakers Include:
– Dr. Kathleen Airhart, Deputy Commissioner of Education,  Tennessee DOE ,  Drive to 55
– Ruthe Farmer, Chief Evangelist,  CSforAll Consortium
– Balaji Ganapathy, Head of HR Workforce Effectiveness,  Tata Consultancy Services
– Johnny Key, Commissioner of Education,  Arkansas DOE

Mentors Needed!
Our valued MWM parter, Mentored Pathways, is looking for additional mentors to help serve a number of students across the United States. Utilizing a vast network of middle and high school educators, Mentored Pathways provides the opportunity for mentors to match with students focused on specific projects to help boost their understanding and desire for the STEM path. You may find more information by going to their website - MentoredPathways.org
EL SALVADOR: A Salvadoran Entrepreneur Gives Back Through Business
From where Lula Mena sits, the outlook for her home country of El Salvador is bleak. "We have no identity as a country. We are losing our traditions," she says. "We don't feel proud to be Salvadorans."
That's in large part what inspired Mena to start her business, which designs and develops home and fashion accessories that are handmade by communities of women living in violent or rural areas of the country. "These women are amazing human beings with no opportunities," she explains.

INDIA: Zone Startups Launches Second Accelerator for Women
The empoWer initiative is backed by Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Microsoft, Capital First, PayU, ICICI Bank, Social Alpha, Cherie Blair Foundation, Amazon, and FlexiLoans, Zone Startups said in a statement here.
For the six-week bespoke program, 15 women entrepreneurs will be shortlisted.
The program participants will get access to mentoring, workshops, case studies of successful women led startups, industry connects, peer network, investor connect and business development opportunities.

Why Female Students Leave STEM
Given the complex social, political and economic factors that go into wage gaps and career disparities between men and women, perhaps it makes sense that the disparities in some STEM majors require multifaceted answers as well.
In a new  working paper , Georgetown University researchers explored what drives women who entered a STEM major to switch to something else. Their findings, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, show that the answer is a complex combination of factors, including the environment, perception of the major and grades. It also showed that previous theories don’t always hold up.

2017 Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity for Karen Thole
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Karen Thole, distinguished professor and department head of mechanical and nuclear engineering, has been selected as a recipient of the 2017 ABET Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity.
ABET is a professional accreditation agency in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology education. The Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity recognizes “extraordinary success in achieving or facilitating diversity and inclusiveness in the technological segments of our society.”

WiSTAR3 Provides Networking Opportunities for Graduate Women in STEM
WiSTAR 3 , which stands for Women in STEM Advancing Research, Readiness, and Retention, was created last year to provide support for graduate-level women in science, technology, engineering, and math.
The group kicks off the fall semester with a meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Schulz Brau Brewery, 126 Bernard Avenue. Interested students are encouraged to attend and discuss possible events for this school year.
Through WiSTAR 3 , women in graduate programs in STEM fields can network, participate in events, and take part in professional development opportunities at UT.

Influenster 2017 Scholarship For Women in STEM: Application Now Open
Influenster , the leading product discovery and reviews platform, today announced that it has started accepting applications for the  Influenster 2017 Scholarship For Women in STEM . Influenster will be granting scholarships to five outstanding female students pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in a technical field of study.

"As a company taking a stance to change the ratio in tech, the Influenster Scholarship for Women in STEM is our way of not only bringing awareness to the industry shortage of women developers, but to also make an active commitment to empower the next generation of female leaders in tech," said Elizabeth Scherle, Co-Founder and President of Influenster.

STEM Girls for Social Good: Empowering Girls to Change the World
Data from more than 200 tech companies show men hold 82 percent of positions in the general tech sector. According to a recent study, the cyber security sector is even less diverse, as women make up only 11 percent of the workforce.
To be part of the solution, Cheryl is opening a new world of possibilities for young women in Washington, D.C. Based on the idea, “you can be it if you can see it,” she partnered with the D.C. chapter of  Girls, Inc . in 2015 to introduce a week-long event, SG4SG. This program aligns D.C.-area high school girls with professionals and summer interns working in the STEM fields to solve social good challenges.

Polk Girls In STEM Will ‘Break Barriers’ And ‘Build Bridges’
Fourth- to eighth-grade girls from Lake Wales schools will have the opportunity to learn Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) from female scientists at Polk State College in the Polk Girls in STEM program.
Polk State received a grant for the new program from the GiveWell Community Foundation and has partnered with Janie Howard Wilson Elementary and Bok Academy to expose young girls to the ideas that college is attainable and science is a possible career path.

How STEM Education Can Help End Poverty
STEM education is increasing in popularity--more schools are incorporating STEM into their curriculum and making it a key part of what they teach. STEM can help students learn to think logically, improve math test scores, and give students career training. But STEM education can also help bring an end to poverty.
Generational poverty is typically the result of a lack of opportunity. Children who don't have access to high-quality education tend not to go on to college, and they wind up with low-paying hourly-wage jobs. As adults, they don't have the time or resources to go back to school, and they raise their children in poverty. Access to opportunities and entry into high-paying careers can break this cycle of poverty.

Lead(h)er Celebrates One Year Mentoring Women
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (KWQC) - Over the past year, more than 120 women have been mentored through Lead(h)er . 
The initiative was started last year by founder Melissa Pepper. The program has been life-changing for people like Tiffany Jones.
“Without it I’d seriously be lost,” she said.
Jones is finishing up her master’s degree in human resources management. She set to graduate in December, but a year ago, she could not tell you what she wanted to do.
“I’m undecided, I need help,” she recalled feeling when she met Pepper at Upper Iowa University.
“[Pepper] was mentioning that she was a part of a program that mentored women,” Jones said.
She signed up for Lead(h)er’s free mentor service looking to "Strike a Match," the program used to match mentors with mentees.
Jones found Kirby Vinkey, a member relations manager with MRA. Vinkey helped Jones find the confidence she needed.

How this Woman Leapt From HR Person to Google Engineer Without a Computer Science Degree
Google has a much-deserved reputation as a difficult place to land a job.
Angela Taylor's career proves that with hard work and a can-do attitude, you can go from no programming experience to a Google engineer, without a computer science degree. The tactics she used to land her dream job can be used by anyone.

Meet Danielle Olson: A Gique Advancing the Case for STEAM Education
What is a  Gique ? It’s a cross between “geek” and “chic”, a maker and creative problem-solver whose interdisciplinary interests turn STEM into STEAM. Meet  Danielle Olson , researcher and PhD student at MIT and proud founder of Gique, a nonprofit that provides transformational, culturally situated STEAM learning for underserved youth. Olson says being a Gique is about using your passion to embrace change and create your dream job. Olson offers STEMConnector her insights and experience as an engineer, a dancer, a dreamer and pioneer in STEAM education, as well as research on how the arts are leveling the educational playing field in STEM.

Exclusive: Sequoia Capital is Running a Mentorship Program for Hundreds of Silicon Valley Women
Silicon Valley venture capital firms haven’t exactly been models for gender equality— especially in light of the recent spate of sexual harassment scandals that have plagued the industry. But at least some are trying to do their part to promote more inclusion of women in the tech field.
Fortune has learned that, for the past year, VC firm Sequoia Capital has been running a program that pairs technical women across its portfolio companies with mentors at other organizations. Dubbed “Ascent,” the initiative was started in the summer of 2016 by Sequoia's human capital partner, Joe Dobrenski. Step one was to enlist an online mentoring matchmaker called Everwise (which also happens to be one of the firm's portfolio companies) and survey more than 500 women  and men across various startups. Not surprisingly, the findings showed that women often lacked access to relevant female role models and felt alone in their organizations.

All that Female Mentoring and Training but 4 in 5 Managers are Still Male
We’re getting ourselves university qualified, with 25 to 29 year olds now far out-pacing men when it comes to  having a bachelor degree or higher. 
The market for women’s leadership and development continues to grow, with online options now providing even more opportunities for women to work on their ‘merit’.
But for the most part women aren’t managing teams, at least not in the paid workforce when compared to men.
The  latest ABS stats on the management capabilities of Australian businesses tell the rather depressing story. 
Eighty per cent of businesses reported having a male principal manager, meaning just one in five are managed by women. In construction (the worst performer on gender) just one in 20 such positions are held by women.

Seven Great Funding Opportunities For Female Entrepreneurs
Every entrepreneur is challenged to find investors or funding platforms that can  help finance their startup . However, one of the most recent  movements  within the startup community is to help more female entrepreneurs, which has made getting funding a little bit easier for women. This is an ideal time to take your business idea to the next level thanks to an incredible number of avenues you should know about.
While I am not personally affiliated with any of these funding opportunities listed here, I do have colleagues and friends who have noted these were great avenues for increasing the amount of money they raised. I thought they were worth sharing so that more female entrepreneurs out there realize what is available to them.

ATHENA Awards to Honor Outstanding Women Leaders
 The Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce will honor outstanding local women leaders at the 2017 ATHENA Awards Luncheon.
The event is from 11:30 a.m.--1:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at Biltmore Country Club, 160 Biltmore Dr. in North Barrington. The event is hosted by BACC's Women's Biz Net, a network of women business and community leaders.
"The ATHENA Award was created in 1982 to illuminate inspiring women leaders that excel in their profession, give back to their communities, and most importantly, are a role model to other women," said BACC President/CEO Suzanne Corr.
 
Why Aren’t There More Women Working in Audio?
Sound Camp, which has events in California as well as St. Louis, Philadelphia, and New York, is part of SoundGirls.org, an organization co-founded by Karrie Keyes, the live-sound engineer for Pearl Jam. Keyes tells me she started the camp to encourage girls and introduce them to potential careers in audio. “It lets them get their hands on the gear before anyone can discourage them or frighten them away,” she says.
According to  Women’s Audio Mission  (WAM), a nonprofit that trains women for sound careers, that number is probably lower. With men holding the vast majority of technical jobs in audio, it follows that virtually all the music we hear—on the radio, over headphones, or in a live venue—has been shaped by a man.

Women in NYC Tech: Bertha Jimenez of RISE PRODUCTS INC
Today we speak with Dr. Bertha Jimenez, Ph.D and cofounder of  Rise , the cleantech startup that turns organic waste into value by converting industrial waste into raw materials. While she attended school in Ecuador, the West Coast and the East Coast, Dr. Jimenez ended up in NYU’s Technology Management and Innovation PhD program and focused her thesis on what she has titled ‘ The Entrepreneurial Sandbox’ . Dr. Jimenez is currently focused on by-products of the beer and wine industry to be converted into food grade material. Dr. Jimenez is active in the Women in Food Farming and Food Tech group (WiFFFT), and is becoming the role model she wishes she had for young female entrepreneurs.

Women Entrepreneurship in a World of Change: Women Entrepreneurs Expect Big Cracks in the Glass Ceiling Over the Next 20 Years, According to Bank of America Study
Women in the small business community see gender equality in the workplace on the horizon, as the study found that women entrepreneurs envision significant strides for women in the workforce over the next 20 years, with a majority believing that women will match or exceed men in a number of areas:
  • Eighty percent of female entrepreneurs foresee great or equal representation of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields compared to men in STEM.
  • Sixty-eight percent believe women will match or exceed men in executive leadership or C-suite role representation.
  • Sixty-six percent believe there will be more women-owned small businesses compared to those owned by men.
  • Sixty-one percent of women believe their wages will be equal to or greater than those of men.
Tech Tours!

For the last 4 months they've been on the road talking to locals and influencers about the future of work in their cities. They're getting ready for their San Francisco tour and would love to see you there!

Top 3 Reasons YOU should come to our tour stop!
 
  1. FIND A JOB. 20+ growing startups are recruiting and are looking for great talent like you.
  2. Mentoring With Megan. Need we say more?
  3. Hear incredible speakers!
Next Tour Locations!
In a recent Gallup study, only 11 percent of corporate executives perceived that college graduates had the skills they were looking for. How can we better prepare the next generation for the jobs of tomorrow? 
In her new book, Teach to Work: How a Mentor, a Mentee and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America (Taylor and Francis: March 28, 2017) mentoring expert Patty empowers professionals – whether they are bankers, lawyers, architects, accountants, engineers, IT specialists or artists – to bring their real-world experience and her project based mentoring model into the classroom. 
Compelling and insightful, the book reveals how professionals can embark on a journey to transform lives, mentoring one student at a time. 
“You have made a difference in the lives of these kids, and most likely you have made a difference in the lives of their kids as well. They have grabbed hold of your light, because they feel your encouragement and kindness, and maybe because they had no other. Thank you for your important leadership in this role.” 
— Chris Gardener, Author of The Pursuit of Happyness, 2010 NFTE Dare to Dream speech 
For more information visit  www.teachtowork.com
 
Women’s Quick Facts brings to life insightful data on the impact of women that everyone should know. From purchasing power, to how efficient women owned companies are with respect to capital compared to men, this book takes the pulse on women in today’s modern economy. Not only does each page compile a broad spectrum of the most current data, it also brings the numbers to life in bite size, easy to read content.

Million Women Mentors | STEMconnector | 202-304-1964 | [email protected] | www.MillionWomenMentors.org