WEST Wisdom Blog

A STEM degree is one of the most flexible degrees available, but when pursuing one it can be difficult to engage with scientists who’ve moved away from the bench for their career path and see why that is true.  Who has the time to tear themselves away from lab or that coding project??  Worse still, even the most supportive mentors reinforce the notion that a job in the world outside is a sell-out and suggests failure in some sense.

Topics: Events, Transitions, Career, Network

It was an energized and exciting evening at the November 14^th WEST event, Pathways to Leadership Success: Working Toward Gender Balance Senior Panel Discussion. Biogen, Xconomy, and WEST hosted the event, which provided an exceptional opportunity for networking with around 150 members of the STEM community attending. The panel discussion featured the following leaders in academia and industry: Sangeeta Bhatia, Professor, MIT; Bruce Booth, Partner, Atlas Venture; and Sophie Vandebroek, CTO, Xerox.  Jo Viney of Biogen/WEST and Bob Buderi of Xconomy moderated the event. The panel provided their perspectives and insights on actions that can be taken in the workplace to improve gender balance and increase awareness of gender bias.

Topics: Events, Leadership, Gender Balance, Tech, Science, Success, Network

Topics: Donation, Events, Leadership, STEM, Women, Giving

Topics: Events, Leadership, Gender Balance, Tech, Science, Success, Network

We all have to be leaders – leaders of teams, leaders of projects, leaders of families, leaders of ourselves. Leadership skills can and should be cultivated throughout your career, and well before you reach traditional roles of authority. Leadership is hard, even rocket science can seem easier at times. Leadership requires strong self-awareness and personal competencies that can be developed though continuous improvement and practice.

Topics: Events, Leadership, Team, Mentoring, Coaching

Did you know that 57% of women have more earning power than before, that women are making major investment decisions, and 60% of women are the "breadwinners" of their families? Therefore, it is crucial to be informed and proactive about financial planning.  Beata Dragovics from Freedom Trail Financial takes a quite different and effective approach to financial planning, starting with the individual's values to set financial goals and plans. Beata graciously shared her take on 5 mistakes most people make when it comes to financial planning below. If you're interested in learning how to avoid these mis-steps, evaluate your own values and how they can map to your own financial goals and plans please join WEST for an interactive session with Beata on October 26th at 6pm. Participants will leave with a clear sense of how to plan for their values and how to set financial goals as it relates to compensation, equity, and savings. 

Topics: Events, Women, Financial Planning, Wealth Management

Topics: Events, Best Practices, Leadership, Women, Tech

Topics: Leadership, Announcements, Gender Balance, Women, Tech, Science

Our WEST Wisdom Member Spotlight for February 2014 is with Jenny Maki.  Jenny was a WEST 2014 Giving Back Volunteer Awardee.

Topics: Women, Science, Member Spotlight