Join us on Northwestern’s Chicago campus for our second annual large community-building event, where we will celebrate women’s progress in STEM on International Women’s Day and explore the theme of implicit bias, a critical obstacle to STEM diversity and inclusion. Given the strong evidence that unconscious bias is a driving force behind ongoing gender disparities in STEM (Hill, Corbett et al. 2010), our overall goal will be to raise awareness of unconscious bias and its effects on ourselves and others while developing counter-strategies.

• The day will commence with an interactive implicit bias workshop, entitled “Navigating Gender Bias in STEM from the Inside Out“, followed by lunch and refreshments.
• We will next shine a spotlight on exceptional local women leaders in STEM and learn first-hand their experiences and motivations on their career path during a series of short presentations.
• The keynote presentation will be delivered by Dr. Eve Fine, a leader from UW-Madison’s WISELI, a research center at the forefront of evidence-based solutions for implicit bias and increasing female STEM faculty.
• Participants will have the opportunity to interact directly with invited speakers and additional invited local women leaders in STEM at the closing networking reception, where appetizers and drinks will be served!

Together, our upcoming Chicago Women in STEM Symposium and interdisciplinary mentoring program, STEM Circuits, aim to place Chicago on the forefront of positive change by fostering a sustainable inclusive local community. We believe that women are an under-utilized resource, and that increasing diversity will in turn enhance discovery and innovation in STEM to the long-term benefit our global society.