In December 20233, at the Optica Laser Congress in Barcelona, Spain, WiSTEE Connect Chair Jie Qiao organized and led a special women’s lunch and networking session titled “Connect to Collaboratively Advance Our Careers with WiSTEE.” The event attracted over 30 international women in lasers, creating opportunities for mentorship, peer exchange, and community building.
On 15 November 2022, WiSTEE Founder and Chair, Jie Qiao hosted a regional outreach event at the University of Bordeaux titled “Sharing the Shaping Moment of Your Career.” The event welcomed approximately 30 international women in STEM and Entrepreneurship from the Bordeaux region and featured open discussions on career-defining moments, leadership growth, and professional resilience.
Over 80 international attendees received valuable advice and insights on the glass ceiling signal, impact and path, and strategies to overcome it. Two key take-home messages are mutual support among women and building allies in your organization and professional communities.
The 4th Global Women of Light Symposium on September 15, 2019, at the Optical Society headquarters in Washington, DC attracted approximately 80 people from 15 different countries in attendance, spanning all career levels in the industry, academia, and government.
Four esteemed panelists included Dr. Linda Braun, Dr. Gisele Bennett, Dr. Amy Newbury, Dr. Deborah Jackson, and Ms. Cynthia Simmons. Their discussion centered on “Career Strategies for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Entrepreneurship.” The panelists offered the advice to become a strategic thinker to counter bias and balance career and life. Practical tips on how to improve confidence and leadership skills were also offered. The important role of mentors was discussed. Panelists suggested picking someone who looks like they are ahead of you in what you want to become. Ten students received sponsorship to attend this WiSTEE program.
The international symposium centered around “Career Strategies” with a panel discussion and a workshop. Open round table discussions on “The Art and Science of Thriving Women” attracted over 80 international women.
The second Global Women of Light Symposium focuses on building a strong network among women across academia, industry and government, and to cooperatively establish strategies to advance women’s leadership across career ranks. Panel and round-table open discussions on “Collectively Advancing Women Leadership” and “Strategies and Recommendations for Advancing Women Leadership,” were conducted. Internationally renowned women leaders from both STEM and entrepreneurial backgrounds provided their strategies and best practices on advancing women leaders in these fields. A networking session was held at the end of the event. Approximately 70 individuals from 14 countries and 43 institutions attended the second Global Women of Light Symposium.
Over 100 participants from 25 countries and 80 institutions attended! The program highlighted a Panel Discussion on “Intersecting Science and Entrepreneurship”. A Salary Negotiation Workshop was provided. Round Table discussions including “What are Two Key Elements to be Successful in Your Sector as Female Scientists?” were conducted to shine light upon the careers of women in STEE.
Our event on Managing and Reducing Stress and Leading a Balanced Life has been held at RIT on December 2nd, 2015. Dr. Valerie Newman offered advice on managing stress: Some stress is good if it challenges one to go beyond one’s abilities, but if it is chronic, it is bad stress and leads to burnout. Seek activities to destress. Having a sense of purpose is important and will get you through the hard times.
WiSTEE Connect launched the first regional event “LEAN IN together with WiSTEE Connect” at Rochester Institute of Technology on April 28th. A lively blend of 61 women and 6 men actively participated in the opening presentation, the round table discussions, and networking activities. WiSTEE networks/committees include representatives from Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Rochester, Nazareth College, Monroe Community College, Roberts Wesleyan College, Xerox Corporation, Optimax Systems Inc., Care Stream Health, Lifetime Health, IPLogic…
The OSA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation established by The Optical Society (OSA) in 2002 to carry out charitable activities that support OSA’s mission of promoting the generation, application, archiving and worldwide dissemination of knowledge in optics and photonics. The foundation helps cultivate the next generation of leaders and innovators in the optics and photonics community as they move through advanced degree programs and become active members of research and engineering communities around the globe. To date, The OSA Foundation has awarded more than 800 grants, scholarships, and prizes benefiting thousands of individuals in more than 55 countries. For more information, visit www.osa.org/foundation.
She discussed promoting women leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Entrepreneurship; bridging the gap between Science and Business; and providing a forum to learn, connect and lead. Over 100 international attendees attended the session. See live record here http://www.osa.org/en-us/media_library/searchresultsvideo/?Id=2781172870001
Over 80 international attendees attended the event including faculties, post-doc, graduate and undergraduate students from USA, China, Iran, South Africa and some other countries in Europe. WiSTEE Founder and Chairperson Dr. Jie Qiao, joined by a number of WiSTEE members including Dr. Jannick Rolland, Xiangliu, Jinxing Huang, introduced WiSTEE Connect, an organization providing cross-disciplinary and cross-university mentorship, connectivity, and leadership opportunities to women interested and aspired to succeed in science and entrepreneurship. It aims to help women faculties, students, and engineers to gain regional connections and global impact in the STEM field. Dr. Qiao also led a discussion on what it means to be a woman in STEM, the specific challenges to face, and the possible paths to overcome obstacles.
Minorities and Women in OSA (MWOSA) is dedicated to providing focused educational and networking opportunities, career support, grant information and related services to minorities and women in optics and photonics. Activities include:
For more information visit osa.org/mwosa.
Thanks to Mr. Robert Boni and Ms. Diane Boni, the WiSTEE-Boni travel grant was established to provide WiSTEE members with international exposure and perspectives and enhance their academic and research experience.
See link to Opening Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to More Women