WEST Wisdom Blog

Join WEST on Tuesday, July 20 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern time for a Zoom conversation with Kim Meninger, an executive coach who specializes in empowering women to build their confidence, visibility and influence to advance their careers. Meninger will discuss how to recognize and address Impostor Syndrome, as well as how to effectively manage and mentor to professionals who might have Impostor Syndrome. This event is sponsored by CareerMode, a new career management platform customized to your career growth and transition goals. We hope you'll join us on Zoom, and you can hear more from Kim on her podcast, The Impostor Syndrome Files.

Topics: Women, Career, Resilience, Mentoring, Success, Women in STEM, Upcoming Events, Professional, Discussion, Resources, Interactive, Balance, Tools, Role Models, Career Path, Vision, Developing Your Skills, Self-Awareness, Decision Making, Strengths, Values, Impact, Career Development, Empowerment, Advice, Learn, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Imposter Syndrome

Join WEST on June 17, 2021 to hear from Melissa Nuñez, a Certified Financial Planner ^TM and Accredited Investment Fiduciary®, as she shares strategies for building financial resiliency and maintaining level financial footing, especially in the face of the unexpected. Melissa will help us reflect on the challenges and changes we have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and help us plan to meet future financial goals, from paying off debt to buying a home to saving for retirement. Tickets for this event are free thanks to our sponsor, CliftonLarsonAllen.

Topics: Women, Financial Planning, Wealth Management, Transitions, Career, Community, Work Life Balance, Resilience, Success, Women in STEM, Discount, Upcoming Events, Professional, Discussion, Financial, Resources, Interactive, Lessons Learned, Tools, Career Path, Developing Your Skills, Self-Awareness, Decision Making, Confidence, Strengths, Values, Impact, Career Development, Empowerment, Advice, Learn, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Gender Parity, Grow, goals, Purpose

Have you ever felt like your productivity and success depend on carrying a load of fear, perfectionism, or anxiety? Are you looking for strategies to continue the work you love without feeling overwhelmed? On June 3, Dr. Courtney Paré, a holistic anxiety and self-advocacy coach and naturopathic doctor, will join WEST to share her personal story of recognizing the anxious go-getter in herself and guide us through her step-by-step process for building a more constructive relationship with anxiety, letting go of perfectionism, and living a values-driven life.

Topics: Women, Career, Work Life Balance, Resilience, Success, Women in STEM, Upcoming Events, Professional, Discussion, Resources, Interactive, Balance, Tools, Role Models, Career Path, Vision, Developing Your Skills, Self-Awareness, Decision Making, Strengths, Values, Impact, Career Development, Empowerment, Advice, Learn, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Grow, goals, Purpose

Join WEST on Tuesday, May 18 at 12:00 p.m. EST as we host Stephanie Lajoie-Lubin to talk about building a personal advisory board to support your professional and personal goals. Lajoie-Lubin is the founder and principal consultant of Lajoie Consulting Group, a firm that works with organizations to transform their workplace cultures through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and supports early- to mid-career professionals through career transformation. 

Lajoie-Lubin draws on the concept of a personal advisory board, outlined here by Natascha Saunders, to develop a holistic view of her clients’ and her own personal and professional goals. Lajoie-Lubin's talk will outline the key roles to include on your personal advisory board to help you gain perspective, build a career strategy, stay personally grounded, maintain financial stability, engage with key communities on- and offline, and create a vision for who you want to be.

Topics: Women, Career, Work Life Balance, Resilience, Success, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Professional, Discussion, Resources, Interactive, Balance, Tools, Role Models, Career Path, Vision, Developing Your Skills, Self-Awareness, Decision Making, Strengths, Values, Impact, Career Development, Empowerment, Advice, Learn, Diversity, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Gender Parity, Grow, goals, Purpose, Equity

What’s in your portfolio? Join us on Thursday, 4/29 at 5:30 p.m. EST to hear experienced financial advisors explore strategies for aligning your investment portfolio with your personal values through impact investing.

In this interactive discussion, we will hear from Judith Reed, a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley who specializes in helping women in the Life Sciences industry create financial plans for themselves and their families, and William Gambardella, Executive Director of the Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Global Investment Office (GIO). 

Topics: Women, Financial Planning, Wealth Management, Career, Success, Women in STEM, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Financial, Interactive, Change, Values, Impact, Learn, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Gender Parity, Sustainability, Investing

Sure, there’s still the glass stratosphere and whatnot. But life sciences VC offers seats on a shuttle that’s taxing the runway now. 

—Dr. Lucy Rogers (Twitter: @DrLucyRogers)

If you’re reading this, you're probably already active in encouraging girls in STEM pursuits. Whether that’s science lab slime kit birthday present for your niece, or through organizations like Boston Area Girls’ STEM Collaborative or Code to Inspire. 

Topics: Panel, Cambridge, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Influence, Making a Difference, Impact, Own It, Inclusion, Diversity, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Life Science VC, Be Fearless, Be Brave, Venture Capital/VC, D&I

Learn more about past events listed below

5/15: Finding your Voice Among all the Chatter
6/12: How to Inspire, Advocate and Grow During Change
6/20: Building Your Company Culture and Developing Your People

Topics: Events, Best Practices, STEM, Women, Boston, Tech, Science, Career, Communication, Community, Panel, Cambridge, Network, Women in STEM, Workshop, Networking, Innovation, Biotech, Discussion, Interactive, Change, Lessons Learned, Connect, Management, Developing Your Skills, Leaders, Own It, Advocate, Diversity, #WESTevent, Change Management, #WESTorg, Organizational Culture, Corporate Culture

Corporate culture is the flavor of your professional ice cream. 

We all order from the same counter, but we each create a unique taste from the shared experience. Who doesn't have strong feelings about pistachio versus rocky road? Samsung versus Apple? Even if we do combine them all in a gummy bear-topped cheat day indulgence.  

Before you started at your current role, you investigated the company culture. Regardless of your role or your intentions, upon arrival, your primary task was acclimating. First you learned the why’s and how’s. You had to accept the existing culture while you got your bearings. But you’re not a newbie anymore. It's time for the next step. 

Topics: Best Practices, Panel, Cambridge, Culture, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Influence, Making a Difference, Self-Awareness, Impact, Own It, Inclusion, Diversity, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Organizational Culture, Corporate Culture

2019 Women’s History Month career panel on gender diversity hosted by Vertex’s Employee Resource Network IWILL (Inspiring Women in Leadership & Learning)

Vertex Employee Resource Network hosts panel on gender diversity

As part of Women’s History Month celebrations at Vertex, IWILL (Inspiring Women in Leadership and Learning) sponsored a panel on gender diversity with some of Vertex’s top executives. IWILL co-chair Mary-Lynn Fulton explained that IWILL was the first of four Employee Resource Networks (ERN) at Vertex and that IWILL focuses on “attracting, retaining, and developing women at Vertex, particularly into leadership roles.”

Trish Hurter, PhD, executive sponsor of IWILL and an instrumental figure in launching the ERN, moderated the panel. The table below has more information about Trish and the panel participants.

Topics: Leadership, Women, Science, Career, Panel, Women in STEM, Biotech, Discussion, Connect, Inspiration, Leaders, Mentor, Diversity

Pay equity expert Katie Donovan gave a mind-blowing seminar on equal pay negotiations for WEST community on March 13th.

Katie provided a few paradigm-shifting ideas which will change the way we communicate about salary negotiation. We, as women often don’t realize that we are being underpaid. And we tend to think that pay is not negotiable and that organizations will pay us fairly. However, the statistics from US Bureau of Labor clearly demonstrate the issue of unequal pay between men and women [Chart 3 below]. Since 2004, the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio has remained in the 80 to 83 percent range [data]. That’s the awakening mindset Katie challenged every woman to bear in mind.

Topics: Events, Women, Science, Career, Community, Network, Job, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Professional, Biotech, Discussion, Equal Pay, Connect, Gender Pay Gap, Leaders, Impact, Own It, Advocate