WEST is an organization founded in 2000 to advance women in STEM careers through education, mentorship, and networking, aiming to develop female leaders and innovators. Key findings suggest that women must focus on performance, visibility, leadership experience, and sponsorship to achieve success and overcome systemic barriers in their careers. The organization offers various programs tailored to different career stages to support women's professional development and promote visibility and advocacy.

1. WEST:
ADVANCING
WOMEN IN
STEM CAREERS
Ilene Fischer
29 March 2012
1

2. WEST:
Foundation and
Background
Information
2

3. Founded 2000 Mid-History Today
• Founders: • Strong life- • Including women
physicists sciences focus from life sciences,
and astrophysicists • One-third post engineering,
• Committed to docs technology and
develop women in • Programs industry service
Science, primarily held in providers.
Engineering as Cambridge • Expanded across
leaders in their the career
careers spectrum
• Branches in Boston • Programs offered
and Madison, WI in throughout the
• Programs in the state of
greater Boston Massachusetts
area
3

4. WEST’s vision is to promote, advance, and
develop women in Science, Engineering,
and Technology as leaders, advocates,
C-level executives, and thought leaders;
that make a profound difference in the
communities they serve.
4

5. About WEST
 WEST is a community, a forum, for early,
mid-career, executive and entrepreneurial
women in STEM careers.
 WEST members are committed to
developing themselves as leaders through
education, mentorship, networking, and
information sharing.
 WEST encourages women to cultivate
entrepreneurial thinking and creative risk-
taking.
5

6. Through participation
members:
 Distinguish their
passion and unique
contribution to their
work.
 Build their talent.
 Become inspirational
leaders and role
models for their
teams, organizations,
and businesses.
6

7. “Profession without
passion is just a job.”
Anne Mulcahy, Former CEO of Xerox, Inc.
7

8. Photo courtesy of Veni Markovski
We serve our membership and a
380 Members broader audience.
Weekly communication through our
5000+ Person Database newsletter
Main science, technology and
35 Programs a Year engineering hubs in Massachusetts 8

9. Gender
Women 97%
Men 3%
Career Stage
Post-Doc or
Graduate Students 10%
Early Career 15%
Mid - Career 60%
Executive Women 10%
9

10. 10

11. WEST’s Model For
Successful Women
In STEM 11

12. WEST’s career
development strategy is
based on research that
Catalyst released in
October of 2011 on The
Myth of the Ideal Worker:
Does Doing All the Right
Things Really Get Women
Ahead?
Photo provided by Catalyst 12

13. If men and women follow the same
career advancement strategy, do
they get the same results?
No. Women advance less rapidly
than their male counterparts and
have slower pay growth.
13

14. Findings From The Study
 Four areas for women to focus on
to ensure success in their careers:
 Performance
 Visibility
 Leadership Experience
 Sponsorship
14

15. Catalyst Research is reinforced by the
findings of the Harvard Business School:
The Athena Factor: Why women leave
their STEM careers, along with Studies
on Success for Women by the Anita
Borg Institute.
15

16. Performance
 Performance is
the ticket in the
door.
 Women must
produce
extraordinary
results- out
perform men- to
succeed in their
careers

17. Visibility
 On work
assignments
 With senior
executives
 For achievement
 In industry

18. Performance Visibility

19. Leadership
Experience
 Women need to be
developed as
leaders
 They need to have
leadership
experiences that
enhance their
visibility.

20. Leadership
Visibility
Experience

21. Sponsorship
 Women need sponsors,
not just mentors.
 Sponsors are in key
executive positions and
advocate for the people
they sponsor.
 Sponsors ensure the
success of the people
they sponsor, they
elevate them in their
careers.
21
Photo courtesy of Veni Markovski

22. Mentors vs. Sponsors
• Can sit at any level in • Senior managers with
hierarchy influence
• Provide emotional support • Give protégés exposure to
and feedback other executives
• Serves as a role model • Ensure their people are
• Helps mentees learn to considered for promising
navigate corporate politics opportunities and assignments
• Strives to increase mentees • Protect protégés from
sense of self- worth negative contact with senior
• Focus on mentees executives
professional & personal • Fight for their people to get
development promoted

23. Sponsorship Visibility

24. Checking the Pulse of
Women in Bioscience
 Success for women is
Data revealed that predicated on having advocates
gender inequities (sponsors) to help them in their
career.
were present from the  Their accomplishments need to
moment women be visible.
 Producing extraordinary results
sought degrees in is critical to success.
sciences and  Opportunities to lead in their
organization and be recognized
continued throughout for their leadership is a critical
their career. component for success.
Catalyst research
24

25. Barriers To Advancement And Retention
• Isolation  Culture does not reward
• Lack of access to employee development
influential social  Hidden bias and
networks and mentors stereotyping that
• Unwelcoming cultures became embedded in
• Work-family conflict organizational
processes.
Anita Borg Institute Study
25

26. Women in STEM
• 41% of highly qualified • 55% of women scientist,
early career scientist, compared with 45% of
engineers, and male scientist said they
technologist in the US entered their career to
are women. make a difference and to
• Two-thirds of women help humankind.
scientist choose their • 90% of women in
fields to contribute to the science,75% engineering
well-being of society. and 74% technology love
their work yet 52% leave
their careers.
HBS Research

27. Characteristics Of Success In Technology
 Analytical
 Innovator
 Questioning
 Risk-taking
 Collaborative
 Working long hours
 Entrepreneurial
 Assertive
27

28. Women in STEM have had to overcome
significant cultural hurdles to be able to
realize their commitment to making a
difference. We must find ways to create
environments for Women in STEM to succeed.
28

29. In addition the four areas of focus:
 Performance
 Visibility
 Leadership Experience
 Sponsorship
WEST offers specific leadership programs
addressing:
 Innovation leadership
 Networking skills
 Entrepreneurial Thinking and Risk-taking
 Negotiation – Learning How to Ask
29

30. Program Career Level Performance Visibility Leadership Sponsorship
Get on Board: Mid-Level,
Leadership
Opportunities
Executive,
Entrepreneurs
✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
A Tale of Two
Industries:
Alliance
Mid-Level,
Executive ✖ ✖ ✖
Partnership
Program
Management
101 and 102
Early, Mid-Level ✖ ✖
To MBA or Not to
MBA
Early, Mid-Level ✖ ✖ ✖
Career
Possibilities:
Speed Mentoring
Early, Mid-Level ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
Executive
Women’s Dinner
Executive,
Entrepreneur ✖ ✖ ✖
Leadership
Early, Mid-Level,
Awards and
Giving Back
Executive,
Entrepreneurs
✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
Awards
30

31. WEST’s Program Offering
 Workshops  Mentoring
 Skill building  Peer mentoring circles
 Panel Discussions  Volunteer program
 Different topics, different  Advisory board, executive
perspectives peer mentoring
 Signature Events:  Executive Women’s
 Leadership Awards Dinner:
 Giving Back Awards  Director Level and above
 Great speakers and panels
 Networking
31

32. 32

33. Women on Boards
33

34. Women on Boards
• In Europe:
– In 2010, women made up 51.2% of the population,
compared with 48.8% men
– 58.2% of women were employed
• In Italy
– 2011- 3.7% women on boards
– Women in the work force 40.3%
• In the US:
– 2001- 12.1% women on boards
– 2012- 16.1% women on boards
– US women in the workplace 46.7 %
34

35. 35

36. Definitions
• Return on Sales (ROS): The pre-tax net
profit divided by revenue.
• Return on Invested Capital (ROIC): The
ratio of after-tax net operating profit to
invested capital.
• Return on Equity (ROE): The ratio of after-
tax net profit to stockholders’ equity.
36

37. 37

38. 38

39. How can WEST support
you Italy?
39

40. Bibliography
Catalyst Research:
The Myth of the Ideal Worker: Does Doing All
The Right Things Really Get Women Ahead?
Author: Nancy M. Carter and Christine Silva
Published: October 2011
Checking the Pulse of Women in Bioscience:
What Organizations Need to Know
Author: Anika K. Warren
Published: August 2011
40

41. Bibliography
Anita Borg Institute Research
Senior Technical Women: A Profile of Success
Authors: Caroline Simard, Phd Shannon K. Gilmartin, Phd
Published: 2010
Harvard Business School Research
The Athena Factor : Reversing the Brain Drain
in Science, Engineering, and Technology
Authors: Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Carolyn Buck Luce, Lisa J.
Servon,Laura Sherbin, Peggy Shiller, Eytan Sosnovich, and
Karen Sumberg
Published: June 2008
41

42. 42