November 20th 2017 
Million Women Mentors Would Like to Thank You!
Million Women Mentors would like to thank their Million Women Mentors Newsletter readers and supporters during this Thanksgiving holiday.
The newsletter would not be what it is today without you!
Women Who Code Announce Winners
Women Who Code  (WWCode), the world’s largest nonprofit organization working to support the success of women engineers, is proud to announce the winners of the 2017 #ApplaudHer Awards. This honor was bestowed upon women in 13 categories and was given in recognition of their contributions and accomplishments within the technology industry.
The winners were announced last night at the  Second Annual Women Who Code Awards  2017. Over 100 people were in attendance to celebrate the event and support Women Who Code in their work to inspire women to excel in technology careers. Sponsors for the ceremony included  Github Samsung Hired Plex Capital One VMWare Saint Archer Brewing Hova Labs Peroni , and Galvanize .

The winners of the awards were as follows:

  • Ignite Award: Vicki Cheung, Head of Infrastructure, OpenAI
  • Rise Award: Maria Kazandjieva, Engineering Manager, Netflix
  • Innovator Award: Kimberly Mach, Senior Software Engineer, Microsoft 
  • Visionary Award: Martha Arellano, Cloud Platform Architect, VISUAL VOCAL
  • Open Source Award: Erin Spiceland, Engineer, NodeSource
  • Founder Award: Fatima Dicko, Founder & CEO, jetpack
  • Phoenix Award: Lori Hill, Software Engineer, NBC
  • Localization Award: Mimi Hills, Director, Product Globalization, VMware 
  • Senior Leadership Award:Ann Yeung, Sr. Director, Software Engineering, Capital One
  • VPE Award: Dory Weiss, VP of Engineering, nCino 
  • Director of Engineering Award: Selena Deckelmann, Director of Engineering, Firefox Runtime, Mozilla 
  • Engineering Lead Award: Laurence Girard, Engineering Lead API and DevOps, GIPHY
  • Thought leadership Award: Max Whitney, VP of Engineering, Max Amalgamated


Mentors Needed!
Our valued MWM partner, Mentored Pathways, is looking for additional mentors to help serve a number of students across the United States. Utilizing a vast network of middle and high school educators, Mentored Pathways provides the opportunity for mentors to match with students focused on specific projects to help boost their understanding and desire for the STEM path. You may find more information by going to their website - MentoredPathways.org
NEW DELHI: Women’s Entrepreneurship Day
Being a woman entrepreneur may be aspirational for many, but is it easy being one? As people celebrate women entrepreneurship day on Sunday, many of them say entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted and it’s important to have self-belief in a path strewn with bureaucratic and gender obstacles.
“Yes, it has been a man’s world. Almost 10 years back when I took charge of the business there were a lot of insecurities in the minds of the people. People had also tried to buy out the business. But I remained strong. I had a mission to complete. I had to make the business bigger and stronger,” Anasuya Gupta, Chairperson and Managing Director, Cico Group, told IANS.
Gupta was a homemaker who was forced by circumstances to turn entrepreneur. She took up the task after her husband’s demise.

NIGERIA: Hard Journey to the Boardroom
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day was  Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030. Around the world, women and men were invited to pledge their utmost efforts in achieving workplace gender parity by 2030. Sadly, in many parts of the world this remains an ambitious plan, notably in our native Nigeria. Walk into any boardroom in downtown Lagos or Abuja and it will be overwhelmingly male-dominated. Just what is stopping our Nigerian sisters from breaking the glass ceiling?
The feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s mean that in many developed countries, women have been pouring into the workplace for over 40 years. Yet the unfortunate reality is that Nigeria has been left lagging behind. In fact, a quick glance over the first 20 listed companies on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) reveals that seven of the listed companies don’t have a single woman on their board, and that five have only one woman each.

IRELAND: 'I've Faced Sexism': Woman Who is Set to Become First Irish Person in Space
A woman who is set to become the first Irish person to travel to Space has revealed she has faced sexism as she pursued her incredible career.
Dr Norah Patten said she is determined to inspire young girls not to be deterred by sexist stereotypes and to follow their dreams.
Norah (34) told Independent.ie: "The whole area of Space has always been absolutely fascinating to me."

Norah studied aeronautical engineering in University of Limerick before she completed a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering but she admits that she has faced some discrimination because of her gender.

UNITED KIN GDOM: Ambitious Adeola Shows Why She's One To Watch
Young biomedical student announced as a finalist for prestigious award organized by WISE campaigning group. A WEST Midlands university student is in the running for a national Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) award.
Adeola Gbakinro, 21, a third-year biomedical science student in the Faculty of Science & Engineering at the University of Wolverhampton, is a finalist in this year’s WISE One to Watch award later this month. WISE is a campaigning group that works to enable and energise people in business, industry and education to increase the participation, contribution and success of women in STEM.

UNITED KINGDOM : How ‘Returnships’ Could Help Women in Science and Engineering Get Back to Work After Having a Baby
I have met some who have successfully managed to do both, but they are a rarity. The key to their success seems to be in having a truly egalitarian relationship, where childcare responsibilities are shared equally and career sacrifices are made by both parents. Unfortunately this is not always the case. If you are a highly trained, experienced engineer and you decide to have a few years off work, getting back into employment can be tough with a gap on your CV. Recruiters and companies can interpret this as a lack of technical skills and knowledge.

AUSTRA LIA: Australia's Gender Pay Gap Tightens Mildly
Australia's women are closing the wage gap but men still earn an average 26,527 AU dollars (20,000 US dollars) more across all industries and occupations, said a survey. As it aims to lower the gender pay gap, Diageo said it is providing training and mentoring for women at all stages of their careers to support their development as leaders. "Women employed full-time can expect to earn on average around $30,000 or 26 per cent less each year in base salary than men employed within the industry". She welcomed the increase in employers analysing pay data to address the gender gap - the number was up 11 percentage points on previous year - but said there was much more to be done.

North Museum Event Breaks the Barrier for Girls Interested in Pursuing STEM Fields
Leah Nissley, a sophomore at Donegal High School, has quite the trophy collection.
Sitting at home are some of her prized possessions — a surgical gown, a vial of cow DNA and cells from a benign tumor removed from her own dog.
On Thursday, she added another.

“I got a catheter!” the 15-year-old said to her father, Derek, holding a cardiac catheter, used to diagnose and treat some heart conditions, in the air as if it was an Olympic gold medal.
Nissley earned her latest trophy during an event put on by the  North Museum of Nature and Science at HACC in Lancaster. Part of the museum’s  STEM Sisters initiative, the three-hour program was meant to help high school girls learn more about science, technology, engineering and math, as well as what STEM jobs may be available once they graduate.

Alavi, Bonnett Named 2017 Women of the Year by Women in Technology
Georgia Tech was well represented among the Women in Technology (WIT) Women of the Year winners on Nov. 16, with both Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business Dean Maryam Alavi and Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) General Manager Jennifer Bonnett winning in their respective categories.
Alavi was named Woman of the Year in the Mid-Size Organization and Education Institution category, while Bonnett won Woman of the Year among Non-Profit Organizations.
“I have the good fortune of working at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business – the intersection of business and technology,” Alavi said. “Our mission aligns with Women in Technology’s mission to encourage girls and women to excel at science and technology. In fact, Georgia Tech awards the highest number of engineering degrees to women and underrepresented minorities in the nation.”

Strategies for Fair Assessment of Women in STEM Classes
Women receive over half the bachelor’s degrees in biology nationwide—which bucks the trend of gender imbalance in STEM. But a  University of Minnesota study into one particular introductory biology course asks questions over fair assessment of men and women in high stakes testing and lab work.
According to the study, women performed significantly less well than men in a selection of final exams. Meanwhile, women even more significantly outperformed men in “non-exam” assessments such as lab work, quizzes, and group projects.

Funding Opportunity for Women in STEM
Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting women in STEM. A key part of our mission is our fellowships program. Established in 1941, our fellowships program awards research fellowships, of a maximum of $10,000 each, to self-identified women in any STEM fields.
Our fellowship applications for 2018 are now open and application instructions can be found  here. Eligible applicants are women who have received a bachelor’s degree and are conducting hypothesis-driven research in any STEM field. Applicants do not need to be US citizens. Undergraduate students are not eligible, but post-baccalaureate research assistants, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty members are invited to apply. Fellowship applications are due January 12, 2018.

Danielle Feinberg — Boulder Native and Pixar Boss — Helps Girls Find their STEM 'Posse'
Five all-women teams competed in the University’s first “Code Ada Hackathon” on Saturday, and were given eight hours to build anything they wanted using standard computer science tools, like python, java or C.
Fifty people signed up for the Hackathon beforehand, 18 attended the event.
The title of the hackathon, Code Ada, is a reference to Ada Lovelace, the English mathematician credited as the first ever computer programmer, and the first to recognize the potential of a computing machine.

How the Girl Scouts CEO Went from Rocket Scientist to America's Biggest Champion of Girls
There are moments that Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, just can't forget. 

There was the time a college counselor at her high school in Las Cruces, New Mexico, scoffed at Acevedo's desire to study engineering. "Girls like you don't go to college," she recalls the counselor saying, in a reference to her Mexican ethnicity. 


Fulton County Schools’ Sacks wins CIO of Year Award
Fulton County Schools Chief Information Officer Serena Sacks has been named a winner of the Georgia CIO Leadership Association’s 2017 CIO of the Year ORBIE Award, a prestigious honor recognizing professionals who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership. She was honored Nov. 15 at a special ceremony at the Cobb Galleria Centre in southeast Cobb County, with nearly 1,000 professionals representing leading Georgia organizations and their technology partners.

Marion, IL woman receives Congressional Gold Medal
A Marion, Illinois woman received the Congressional Gold Medal on Saturday, Nov. 18 for her role in WWII as a volunteer with the Civil Air Patrol. 
June Minton, 89, was presented the Congressional Gold Medal at the Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois in front of a room full of people. 
She first worked as a bookkeeper at the Cairo Airport. Personnel there gave her rides for free which is the reason she first was interested in joining the Civil Air Patrol. 
The Civil Air Patrol states their coursework still provide cadets the opportunity to fly today. It also has expanded to include programs such as STEM education and Cyber Patrols which protects against such things as cyber threats and more. 

Celebrating Women in STEM: Dr. Kamala Sohonie
Dr. Kamala Sohonie was a powerful force for women in STEM. Her legendary battle with a Nobel Laureate won Indian women the right to study at the Indian Institute of Sciences. She defeated sexism to become the first Indian women to receive a Ph.D. in a science discipline.
Sohonie was born in Bombay, India in 1911. Her father was one of the first chemists to graduate from the Tata Institute of Sciences (later the Indian Institute of Sciences), and inspired his daughter to follow in his footsteps.
She completed her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Bombay (now the University of Mumbai), but despite finishing at the top of her class, Sohonie was not admitted into the Indian Institute of Science.

Mediaplanet Celebrates Diversity in STEM with Second Edition of “Women in STEM” Campaign
Mediaplanet today announces distribution of its second cross-platform edition of “Women in STEM,” aiming to celebrate the growth of diversity in these fields while also looking at the many issues women in this industry still face.
The print component of “Women in STEM” is distributed to a very key audience at focused STEM events, conferences, networking centers and universities, as well as a large network of K-12 public schools and learning centers. The digital component is distributed nationally through Mediaplanet’s  Education and Career News content hub, social-influencer sharing and targeted STEM newsletters and news sites.

STEM Needs More Female Leaders to Smash Gender Stereotypes
Gender stereotypes about women in STEM are well and alive in Malaysia and Singapore, a problem that will persist if there aren’t more female leaders in the industry.
While both countries are doing well in ensuring a gender balance in STEM classes, the same cannot said when these students graduate, according to female leaders from both countries in a panel discussion titled “Smashing Gender Stereotypes” at an education conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Two major stereotypes persist about women in STEM, says Victoria O’Collins, a neuroscientist and now creative director at AFewGoodScientists.com, a platform for science services and products.
Firstly, whether women belong in STEM and secondly, whether women can take on leadership roles in STEM. While Southeast Asia can be seen as doing greatly in dispelling the first stereotype, it is not doing so well with the latter.

Valerie Jarrett at N.C. A&T: 'I Believe in You, and I Want You to Believe in Yourselves'
Anyone who hoped Obama family confidante Valerie Jarrett would dish on the former first family Thursday night at N.C. A&T probably left disappointed.
Anyone looking for advice and encouragement came away more than satisfied.
For an hour, the long-time adviser to former President Barack Obama talked to an invited audience of students, faculty and other guests about women in science and technology fields and in the workplace.
Thursday’s event was part of the Chancellor’s Speaker Series at A&T, which this semester is focusing on women’s issues. It was moderated by Erica Baker, a senior engineering manager at the crowdfunding website Patreon.


In a recent Gallup study, only 11 percent of corporate executives perceived that college graduates had the skills they were looking for. How can we better prepare the next generation for the jobs of tomorrow? 
In her new book, Teach to Work: How a Mentor, a Mentee and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America (Taylor and Francis: March 28, 2017) mentoring expert Patty empowers professionals – whether they are bankers, lawyers, architects, accountants, engineers, IT specialists or artists – to bring their real-world experience and her project based mentoring model into the classroom. 
Compelling and insightful, the book reveals how professionals can embark on a journey to transform lives, mentoring one student at a time. 
“You have made a difference in the lives of these kids, and most likely you have made a difference in the lives of their kids as well. They have grabbed hold of your light, because they feel your encouragement and kindness, and maybe because they had no other. Thank you for your important leadership in this role.” 
— Chris Gardener, Author of The Pursuit of Happyness, 2010 NFTE Dare to Dream speech 
For more information visit  www.teachtowork.com
 
Women’s Quick Facts brings to life insightful data on the impact of women that everyone should know. From purchasing power, to how efficient women owned companies are with respect to capital compared to men, this book takes the pulse on women in today’s modern economy. Not only does each page compile a broad spectrum of the most current data, it also brings the numbers to life in bite size, easy to read content.

Million Women Mentors | STEMconnector | 202-304-1964 | MWM@STEMconnector.org | www.MillionWomenMentors.org