WEST Wisdom Blog

Gender Parity

WEST is hosting a gender parity panel discussion on 9/30. This topic is essential because while more women are finding themselves in STEM careers in general, there is still work to be done to get more women into leadership roles. In leadership roles, women often feel like they are walking a tightrope to be likeable and respected. This panel will include leaders from academia, industry, and consulting services who have worked for gender parity in science and technology. They will discuss techniques they have used to achieve gender parity and how to advance more women into leadership roles.

Topics: Leadership, Gender Balance, STEM, Gender Balance, Women, Career, Panel, Mentoring, Women in STEM, Upcoming Events, Equal Pay, Balance, Gender Pay Gap, Advocate, Diversity, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Gender Parity, Webinar, 20th Anniversary

Celebrating WEST's 20th Anniversary with 20 stories of impact. This week's stories are from Chesley Chen, Maria Lalioti, Joseph Lehar, Anna Li, Enith Morillo, Makeda M, Liz O'Day, and Elizabeth Wu.

Topics: Events, Leadership, Women, Transitions, Career, Awards, Community, Giving Back, Work Life Balance, Resilience, Entrepreneurship, Network, Giving, Job, negotiation, Leader, Women in STEM, Workshop, Networking, Upcoming Events, Professional, Connect, Balance, Inspiration, Role Models, Delegation, Developing Your Skills, Volunteer, Board of Directors, Confidence, Leaders, Book Club, Impact, Career Development, New Opportunities, Mentor, Inclusion, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, 20th Anniversary, Grow

Celebrating WEST's 20th Anniversary with 20 stories of impact. This week's stories are from Anne Cheung, Elissa Hobert, Reina Improgo, Mariana Nacht, Juliana Soto, and Anne Thessen.

Topics: Events, Leadership, Women, Transitions, Career, Work Life Balance, Resilience, Network, Giving, negotiation, Leader, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Professional, Connect, Balance, Inspiration, Role Models, Developing Your Skills, Confidence, Impact, New Opportunities, Mentor, Inclusion, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, 20th Anniversary

Celebrating WEST's 20th Anniversary with 20 stories of impact. This week's stories are from Denise Aronson, Leah Cole, Elise Huang, and Yelena Wetherill.

Topics: Events, Leadership, Women, Transitions, Career, Resilience, Network, negotiation, Leader, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Professional, Connect, Inspiration, Role Models, Confidence, Impact, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, 20th Anniversary

Topics: Leadership, Women, Career, Awards, Women in STEM, Upcoming Events, Balance, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Webinar, 20th Anniversary

What is “Walking the Tightrope?”

Societal expectations have created a world where women are typically seen as either likable or respected, but not both. Many of the stereotypical traits of women align with being caretakers, while for men they are associated with being strong leaders. When women come off as confident and strong, people might associate them with being unlikable.

Topics: Leadership, Women, Career, Women in STEM, Upcoming Events, Balance, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Webinar

What is networking?

Networking is the exchange of information, ideas, and help among people with a common profession, special interest, or community.

Why is networking important?

Making connections throughout life is essential. You never know if someone you met in middle school is going to have an impact on your future. For many people, you might not start thinking about networking and making career connections until high school or college. The internet has made connecting much easier by having the ability to connect with someone thousands of miles away.

Topics: Career, Community, Network, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Relationships, Connect, Collaboration, Developing Your Skills, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Webinar

How do you build an effective community?

WEST began in 2000 intending to create a supportive environment for women in the fields of science and technology. The community has been growing over the past 20 years into an even more influential group impacting women every day. The goal for this year is to build a strong community of resilient women making a positive impact on the world.

Topics: Leadership, Career, Community, Resilience, Network, Women in STEM, Networking, Annual Theme, Upcoming Events, Connect, Making a Difference, Career Path, Developing Your Skills, Engage, Impact, Career Development, Diversity, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Webinar

Despite popular belief, people’s top fear is NOT public speaking. That is a myth. For many people, especially women, the top fear is public JUDGMENT.

As a woman leader or emerging leader, how do you OWN what you’re saying without feeling like a fraud?

Whether you’re speaking up in an online virtual conference, a board meeting or giving a presentation, you need to be able to speak with confidence to influence your listeners.

Topics: Events, Leadership, Women, Career, Communication, Women in STEM, Upcoming Events, Developing Your Skills, Career Development, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Be Fearless, Be Brave, Imposter Syndrome, Webinar, Fearlessness, Public Speaking

When it comes to full shutdowns for public safety, Boston knows how to rally. A baseline of Boston winters. Those summer days when you deliver your elderly neighbor’s groceries. That zero-hesitation all-in drop-everything was all the difference after the Marathon bombing. Anyone who takes their winters below freezing knows that wasting emergency resources by ignoring a #stayhome order costs lives. That said, it’s a lot easier to stay Zen when the outside world is cancelled when you’ve got the infrastructure and daily rhythms down. When the COVID-19 #stayhome orders came, we’d already pulled out all the winter tricks like restarting Purple Carrot and upgrading a few other subscriptions of choice. 

Topics: Change, Career Path, Developing Your Skills, Self-Awareness, Own It, Empowerment, #WESTevent, Women in Business, Be Fearless, Be Brave, Competence, Webinar, Fearlessness