Inclusiveness in STEM

Science is for everyone! C2ST wants to ensure our programs embody that message. C2ST is committed to the advancement of STEM inclusivity and is actively working to embrace programs, speakers, and venues that are more reflective of our local and national communities. Regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or ability, we want everyone to feel welcome and safe in the learning environment we facilitate. With this goal in mind, we have started offering our programs in a wider range of communities than ever before. We make every effort to make our content available online. We seek to host speakers that are representative of our community. We partner with a variety of organizations that can help guide our inclusiveness efforts. And lastly, we hope to engage everyone and help to achieve a more inclusive and dynamic STEM culture.

C2ST has built upon our successful Women in STEM series to provide a forum and representation for all minorities currently in or pursuing STEM careers. C2ST’s Inclusiveness in STEM initiative will provide the region’s premier convening of STEM enthusiasts from every level of academic and professional attainment, in every branch of the sciences and technology, which will include Chicago-area museums, national labs, universities, STEM-related governmental agencies, corporations, and other science outlets, associations, and schools where people may enjoy a combination of formal presentations and panels, as well as informal chances to network and advocate with and for the current and next generation of diverse leaders.

Learn more about thirteen women in STEM who changed the world.

Other Resources:

Symmetry Magazine for diversity and inclusion in physics

Tenured women make up only 26% of STEM faculty. Women of color make up only 5% of non-tenure faculty in STEM and only 2% of tenured or tenure-track faculty in STEM.

Learn more about these discrepancies and what you can do to alleviate them at ARC Network.

14 Smart Women in Science to Learn from on Youtube

Check out these FREE posters celebrating women role models in STEM!


Women in STEM Content

Event

Partner Event: Chicago Women in STEM Symposium

Join us on International Women’s Day for the second annual large-scale community-building event, where the focus will be on implicit bias, a critical obstacle to STEM diversity and inclusion. Given the strong evidence that unconscious bias is a driving force behind ongoing gender disparities in STEM (Hill, Corbett et al. 2010), the overall goal of this event will be to discuss the impact of implicit bias in STEM and develop counter-strategies.

Continue reading “Partner Event: Chicago Women in STEM Symposium”

Blog Post

GEN NEXT: Tomorrow Is Another Day

By Julia M. Haried

Originally published at: https://www.icpas.org/information/copy-desk/insight/article/summer-2019/gen-next-tomorrow-is-another-day

How an aspiring CPA found inspiration in failure, persistence, and resilience.

Read the original article here.

“I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day. And I believe in miracles.”

A lot can be gained from Audrey Hepburn’s words. In the beginning of her career, people were sure she was destined for failure. She was too skinny, did not dance well, suffered from depression and malnutrition, and the list goes on. I don’t want to compare myself or the girls and women I work with at MakerGirl and the Big Four public accounting firm where I work to her, but I do see a powerful similarity between us all. In life and work, we must learn how to fail but not stop, how to persist, and how to be resilient in order to succeed.

Thus far in my career, I have failed and persisted and generated resilience. Women like me who have not been accepted into the colleges of their choice, who have received a sub-par work review, who have not been offered a promotion, who have stuck it out in an unpleasant and unsatisfying work assignment, who have failed CPA exams — but persevered — these are the ones who pave the way for an unknown but potentially bright future for women and girls.

Continue reading “GEN NEXT: Tomorrow Is Another Day”

Blog Post

THE POWER OF ONE: How you can make a difference during STEM mentoring month

By Jenny Kopach

Originally published at: https://www.mentoring.org/2018/10/the-power-of-one-how-you-can-make-a-difference-during-stem-mentoring-month/

I just returned from the Million Women Mentors Summit in Washington, D.C., where hundreds of mission-driven leaders from across the country convened to tackle the issue of closing the gender and skills gaps in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), particularly among women and girls.

The conference theme, “Becoming the Difference,” challenged each and every one of us to find and promote ways to shape the direction of a young person’s life. While 71% of today’s jobs require STEM skills, only 15% of girls (and 44% of boys) plan to pursue a career in STEM. But the power of one mentor can be the change: more than 75% of girls who have a mentor feel they will be successful pursuing a STEM career. Continue reading “THE POWER OF ONE: How you can make a difference during STEM mentoring month”

Video

STEM Ask and Learn Series- February

As a part of our ongoing initiative to introduce students to STEM professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds, Horizon Pharma and The Chicago Council on Science and Technology visited Perspectives Math and Science Academy to talk to students about college and entering STEM fields. Watch the interview here and check for a new video each month. Learn more about our partners Horizon Pharma: https://www.horizonpharma.com Perspectives Math and Science Academy: https://pcsedu.org/pcs-our-campuses/perspectives-iit-math-science-academy/

Event

Unconscious Bias

Watch the event here!

If you are a human being, you have biases — based on race, gender, sexual orientation, body shape and size, religion, height, and a host of other things. Despite our best intentions and without our self-awareness, they are the associations that creep into our thinking, and the implicit biases we hold often don’t line up with our stated beliefs. These biases can affect how we view and treat other people, and have serious, real-world implications. Continue reading “Unconscious Bias”

Event

Women in Science Symposium 2010: Building an Identity

The Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST) in partnership with the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) Chicago Chapter have come together to bring you its first ever all-day Women in Science Symposium 2010: Building an Identity. The symposium, to be held on April 17th, 2010 will allow women scientists, at the academic, industry and government levels, to better recognize the number and diversity of their counterparts; create a sense of solidarity, and; broaden the spectrum of opportunities for women in Chicagoland.

Continue reading “Women in Science Symposium 2010: Building an Identity”

Event

A Roadmap For Inclusion

The Association for Women in Science (AWIS) is pleased to host a national dialogue on gender at the nexus of innovation and entrepreneurship with emphasis on the health and medical sciences sector. Building on the momentum generated from two previous Summits, the AWIS National Summit will center on how we, as a society, can fuel innovative solutions to global challenges facing all our citizens. Continue reading “A Roadmap For Inclusion”

Event

Women in STEM: Connect 2015

Our Women in STEM: Connect is back! This year’s event will feature a lively panel discussion with Q&A, video shorts, and will be followed by networking. We welcome everyone, from women just contemplating a future in a science-related field to career veterans, and all those in between. Men are welcome to attend!

Continue reading “Women in STEM: Connect 2015”

Event

Women in STEM: Connect 2014

The Chicago Council on Science and Technology’s Women in STEM event will serve as a conduit to bring different Women in STEM groups together, and do what C2ST does so well, serve as a liaison and resource for the scientific community, and make connections between various constituent groups within this community.

Continue reading “Women in STEM: Connect 2014”