Article: Women Leaders in Science Digital Summit Highlights the Movement for Diversity and Inclusion

Can preconceptions and other forms of bias prevent women from advancing in the sciences? This question was the core focus of Lab Manager’s Women Leaders in Science Digital Summit, hosted on August 16 and 17, 2022.

Attendees heard from a range of female leaders and their perspectives on diversity, equity, and inclusion in a predominately male workforce. Many themes and concerns were addressed during these presentations, including the gender gap in STEM, coping with burnout, and resolving problems within the system while valuing the leadership abilities of minorities and women in the workplace.

Participants in the two-day online seminar were able to gain a deeper understanding of The Challenges of a Traditionally Male-Dominated Field. Genese Hendrickson, the chief business officer at Perigon Pharmacy 360, addressed the difficulties of operating in a male-dominated profession while simultaneously advocating for the patient experience and practicing empathy for others in their day-to-day. Other presentations on day one featured Inclusive Leadership: Creating Uplifting Work Culture that Works for Everyone and How to Keep the Science Rolling.

 On the second day of this event, the topics revolved around navigating work and life challenges with the presentations, Navigating the Ups and Downs of a Career as a Woman in STEM, Diversity, and Inclusion in STEM: A Leadership Initiative, and Recognizing and Mitigating Job Burnout. During this session, Ofelia Olivero, Life Coach at Positive Coach LLC, had a riveting discussion about feeling compelled to assume additional responsibilities to achieve acknowledgment in the workplace. Given the physical, psychological, and emotional exhaustion, this can result in decreased rates for retaining women in scientific roles, especially those in leadership positions.

Following each webinar, participants were encouraged to take part in a Q&A session where the speakers provided insightful counsel and firsthand knowledge to help attendees with the difficulties they were facing in their labs. With the demonstrable success of this summit, we hope to inspire lab managers and other female STEM professionals to participate as speakers or attendees at future events.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Women Leaders in Science Digital Summit and our expert speakers. On-demand access to every webinar is free at https://summit.labmanager.com/womenleaders. We look forward to continued success in our future digital summits as we continue to promote diversity and inclusion within the lab. For more information on these free virtual events, please visit https://summit.labmanager.com.