Women comprise less than a quarter of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) workforce in the United States, and they are most likely to leave those jobs compared to men. The story is not much different on the nation’s college campuses, where more than half of employees who have STEM PhDs work in nonacademic positions, according to a recent study by the American Institutes for Research.
“Opportunities Workshop for Women in the Mathematical Sciences,” a workshop to familiarize women in the mathematical sciences with professional opportunities in academics, industry, and government labs and help them thrive in mathematics-related fields, will be held April 9–11 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. It is sponsored by National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) at UT, the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute, and the National Science Foundation Mathematical Sciences Diversity Committee, in cooperation with the Association for Women in Mathematics.
Nicole Else-Quest, assistant professor and associate chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland, will give the keynote address, “Attitudes, Not Aptitude: Understanding the Roots of Gender Gaps” at 4:00 p.m. in the Shiloh Room at Carolyn P. Brown Memorial University Center, 1502 West Cumberland Ave. The talk is open to the public.
The workshop also will feature four panel discussions plus eight academic talks by women who earned degrees in pure or applied mathematics or statistics. The panel discussions will focus on grant writing, different types of academic jobs, tenure, and industry and government careers. Breakout groups on job searching and early career issues, a presentation on how to network, and a poster session also will be held.
Presenters will include women who now hold research and management positions in industry and government labs, as well as women in academia.
Graduate and post-doctoral students will attend the invitation-only workshop, but others can view it online. It will be streamed live.
Learn more about the event here.
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CONTACT:
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)