I recently sat down with Women
in STEM Exchange Summit speaker Dr. Uma G. Gupta, founder and executive director
of STEM-SMART.org, to discuss what she loves so much about her field, and the
importance of diversity to the STEM workforce.
The Women in STEM Exchange Summit in Boston will bring together
women in STEM professions this fall. For companies, the summit provides the
opportunity to make one-to-one connections with potential employees, feed
mentoring and internship pipelines, maximize ROI of K-12 STEM investments,
increase STEM retention rates, and promote initiatives in support of women in
the workplace. For college students, the summit provides an opportunity to
learn about corporate internships, mentoring programs and the many rewarding
career paths that are open to STEM educated young women.
Here’s what Dr. Gupta had to say:
IIR: What’s your
favorite part about your job in STEM?
Dr. Gupta: It
gives me an opportunity to help people solve complex problems. I have to
continuously learn from others in order for me to improve my own thinking and
problem-solving skills. Every day opens up a world of possibilities.
IIR: How and why
did you decide to go into STEM as a career?
Dr. Gupta: At one
point in my life, it seemed like the best path forward to economic security.
However, once I got into it, I loved it. There were not too many women in the
field and I had an opportunity to work with thinkers and those who had very
different academic and life experiences than I did. I stayed in the field
because I loved it and saw the possibilities for making a difference in the
world.
IIR: Why is it so
important today to broaden the diversity of the STEM workforce?
Dr. Gupta: What
does any organization want? They want to achieve their mission and win in the
marketplace whether it be a profit or not-for-profit organization. In order to
do this, one has to be creative and innovative in order to survive and to
achieve a competitive edge. At the heart of creativity is diversity. The more
we are exposed to different ideas and experiences and perspectives, the more
creative we become. This is backed by compelling and irrefutable evidence that
diverse teams and organizations are more productive, generate more profits, and
weather market storms much better than organizations that are not committed to
diversity. STEM workforce, or for that matter any workforce, benefit from the
influx of creative ideas and experiences that a diverse team brings to
problem-solving and critical thinking.
IIR: Where do you
see the Women in STEM industry in 10 years?
Dr. Gupta: I see
the next generation as being creative. They easily and readily disrupt
traditional models of business. They have the potential to make gender a
non-issue. This is my fond hope and dream that the discussion will shift from
gender to talent.
IIR: What do you
see as the biggest obstacle for Women who work in STEM? How can it be overcome?
Dr. Gupta: The
biggest obstacle I see is that women tend to under-estimate themselves. Women
must build and expand their confidence levels. They must be go-getters. They
must step forward and take on challenging assignments, even if they don’t have
all the skills, experiences, and talents that the job may demand. They must
lead with grace and power.
IIR: What can we
expect from your session at the event, “Broadening the Breadth of the STEM
Workforce through Racial and Ethnic Diversity”?
Dr. Gupta: Everyone
knows and agrees that diversity is important. I will focus on three things that
organizations can do to break through this barrier. My recommendations will be
based on research findings from the world of neuroscience and it will show how
we can make better decisions and follow through on these decisions to effect
change.
Don’t miss Dr. Gupta
speak at The Women in STEM Exchange Summit in
Boston on October 21, 2014! She will be presenting a session, “Broadening
the Breadth of the STEM Workforce through Racial and Ethnic Diversity” at 11:30
am. For more information about the event or to register, click here: http://bit.ly/1jks4VW
Not only do companies have to provide 24/7/365 customer support, but they also have to provide the best customer experience for every first customer. Considering that people expect almost immediate responses in chats, social media and on the phone and provide hours to get an email response from the company, this gives companies a headache. https://wow24-7.io/blog/how-to-monitor-multiple-communication-channels-with-fast-response-time There are customers who only want to communicate with human agents, and there are those who prefer to deal with their inquiries themselves without contacting customer service. To meet the needs and wants of both audiences, a company should think about self-service options on the Web site.
ReplyDelete