WEST Wisdom Blog

Enjoy breakfast with  Yvonne Greenstreet,  Chief Operating Officer  and Laurie Keating, Chief Legal Counsel. They will share learnings from women in the C-suite and serving on Boards.

Topics: Events, Women, Career, Community, Cambridge, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Rockstars, Lessons Learned, Breakfast

Imagine going to a conference designed completely to meet your needs. That’s what an unConference is. This unConference will feature keynote speakers to get you thinking  about the economics of being female and how looking at the challenge from an economic view can positively impact your career. I n true unConference fashion, it has no agenda until the participants create it. You will decide what topics will be discussed by pitching solutions to the crowd for further discussions in breakout groups. You will share ideas, problem solve, hear multiple perspectives, and challenge the status quo with creative solutions. There is great diversity and experience in the Boston area and this is wonderful opportunity for you to share expertise and exchange innovative ideas in a supportive environment. This is self-directed learning at its best. The content is relevant and exciting because the agenda is created for you, and by you, in the moment.

Topics: Events, Gender Balance, STEM, Gender Balance, Women, Boston, Career, Community, Work Life Balance, Life, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Financial, Interactive, Equal Pay, Change, unConference, Economics, Female

We know that many women draw the short straw when it comes to money: lower wages, slower career progression, outrageous child care costs, costly clothes, ridiculous dress codes, health care, etc. We also know that many women find themselves at the end of their working careers with little financial security.

What are the underlying economic reasons for these unfair outcomes for women who are working hard to both support their families and promote their careers?

Topics: Events, Women, Career, Community, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Resources, Interactive, Equal Pay, Change, unConference, Economics, Solutions, Female

mind·ful·ness
ˈmīn(d)f(ə)lnəs/
noun
1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.
"their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition"
2. a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

Topics: Events, Women, Community, Panel, Workshop, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Resources, Mindfulness, Interactive

Motivating your team to achieve top results can be hard when it's not clear as to how you'll get there. Teams need a framework and tools for achieving greatness, but often times teams can be skeptical of those frameworks and tools. Changing behavior for how things are done is hard. In order to create momentum with a new behavioral change, you want to find small wins with your new frameworks and tools so teams buy into them. Once the team sees a "win" with a new framework, it will be easier to get buy in moving forward and roll out for bigger initiatives on your path to success.

Topics: Events, Women, Tech, Community, Entrepreneurship, Panel, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Financial, Resources, Business

WEST & Ellevate are partnering with WE-BOS to provide a FREE panel discussion where entrepreneurs will share insights into the financial successes and challenges of starting and scaling a business. 

Topics to include:

• Preparing yourself to take the financial risk to start a business
• Resources available to fund or support the start-up of a business
• Resources available to grow and scale your business 

Topics: Events, Women, Tech, Community, Entrepreneurship, Panel, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Financial, Resources, Business

Biogen's WIN group is offering roundtable discussions with women from various areas of Biogen including R&D, Strategy, Asset Management, Clinical Safety Operations, Medical Research, and New Product Commercialization. They will be talking to female grad students and post-docs about their career paths and decision to work in industry. This event will be limited to the first 30 to register and at only $10, it is a great opportunity to network and learn.

Topics: Events, Women, Science, Career, Community, Networking, Upcoming Events, Relationships, Biotech, Discussion, Industry

Biogen's WIN group is offering roundtable discussions with women from various areas of Biogen including R&D, Strategy, Asset Management, Clinical Safety Operations, Medical Research, and New Product Commercialization. They will be talking to female grad students and post-docs about their career paths and decision to work in industry. This event will be limited to the first 30 to register and at only $10, it is a great opportunity to network and learn.

Topics: Events, Women, Tech, Community, Networking, Upcoming Events, Working Remotely

In support of our wonderful community the WEST board has invested in the renewal of our website to make it easier to navigate and find out who we are and what we have to offer. We hope this will provide an opportunity to learn more about WEST’s mission and learning events, the benefits of membership, and the ways in which you can become involved with WEST. Take a look at our new event listings for the fall of 2017 and meet some of our members who have provided testimonials describing what they have gained from joining WEST. There are many ways you can get involved in WEST whether as a volunteer, a sponsor, a blogger or a workshop leader. Please take a look and see all that WEST has to offer and consider becoming a member today.

Topics: Events, Leadership, Women, Team, Science, Community, Networking, Upcoming Events, Excellence, Operational

Is your team operating at its best? Do you have a systematic way of evaluating progress towards goals and removing the various impediments your team faces? Is your team delivering the best service or product quality at the right cost? The concept of operational excellence is a guiding philosophy which requires teams and organizations strive to achieve excellence in all aspects of its operations, adding value at every step. It offers a series of tools and methods that can help efficiency, effectiveness, and adaptability. It makes visible key performance indicators and what needs to be done to support performance. Join us on 9/14 for a workshop on Operational Excellence for Team Performance. You will learn about various operational excellence frameworks and how you can create and implement your own using proven techniques and methods. Specifically, you will leave with 10 tools to make your team more effective that you can start using immediately after the workshop. 

Topics: Events, Leadership, Women, Team, Science, Community, Networking, Upcoming Events, Excellence, Operational