Women at Work Podcast

Guest Contributor: Shari Wang

What are the unique challenges women face in the workplace? Although there are more women in the workplace, the challenges we face haven't changed that much. So how do we address that?

Harvard Business Review recently launched a six-episode podcast about gender and the workplace, called "Women at Work". The podcast includes expert advice and experiences, the latest research, and real-life situations and experiences from the three female hosts of the podcast. "Women at Work" is hosted by HBR editors Amy Bernstein, Sarah Green Carmichael, and Nicole Torres. They speak about their experiences from various stages of their career, from associate editor to executive editor. 

The first episode, “Make Yourself Heard,” features sociolinguist Deborah Tannen, who discusses the linguistic differences men and women use in the workplace and how that affects the conversation. It also provides practical advice to stop interruptions and make yourself heard in meetings. The podcast is structured in short segments.

"Women at Work" is available at https://hbr.org/2018/01/podcast-women-at-work or through any podcast app on Apple or Android.

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This guest article is part of SWE PNW's Contributor's Choice series, where section members submit a topic/article that they'd like to share with the section.

Shari Wang is a core team member of the SWE PNW Virtual Brand Team. She is an Industrial Engineer at Boeing, transforming the production system of the 767 program through continuous improvement and data analytics. Shari enjoys singing with the Seattle Women’s Chorus and volunteering for the Industrial Engineering University Relations Team at Boeing.

Managing Change: New Job, Same Company

Guest Contributor: Kat Morrill

A lot of us reach a point in our careers where we realize that we love the company we’re at, but maybe not the job we’re currently in. We’re left in the position of finding a new role within our current company. The day comes and you sign your offer on a new position, but now you’ve got to find some way to smoothly transition out of your current role and into your new role.

There are two things to consider when doing this. First, you don’t want to burn any bridges with your current group or manager. You might still be working with that group or need their good graces in the future. You want to make sure that they don’t feel like you’re just dumping your old workload and moving on without looking back. Second, you want to make sure that your new team and manager know that you’re excited about working in your new position and aren’t dragging your feet leaving your current role. A great way to accomplish both of these goals is to write a transition plan. List out your current responsibilities and how you think these can best be transitioned to either a new employee or existing coworkers. Establish a timeline for this transition of your tasks. Give a comfortable enough time for the transition to occur, but be reasonable. Things to consider are:

• Does the person just need a quick rundown of what you’ve been doing?
• Will the person need additional training that might take a few months? 
• Does a completely new person need to be hired?

This timeline could be as simple as 2 weeks or could be as long as several months, depending on the complexity of the job and the amount of work you’re transitioning away from.

When you’ve got this down on paper (electronic or physical), set up a meeting with both your current manager and your new manager. Go through the transition plan with them, explaining that as you shift away from your current job, you can start ramping up on training and new tasks with your new job. The transition plan might shift a little bit during this meeting depending on how your managers see the transition occurring. Work with them, but be firm on a timeline in which you think this transition can occur. No one knows your job as well as you do. Depending on how long your transition is planned for, you can also agree to revisit the plan after a certain period of time has passed and re-negotiate as necessary.

Once you’ve obtained an agreement between the three of you, stick with the plan. It’s sometimes hard to move away from your current role, as you’ve comfortable with those responsibilities and new positions mean the challenge of stepping out of your comfort zone. Use your transition plan to make that transition smooth but also firm. The next thing you’ll know, you’ll look back months later and you’ll be integrated in with a great new team and a new job that you love.

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This guest article is part of SWE PNW's Contributor's Choice series, where section members submit a topic/article that they'd like to share with the section. This contribution was originally featured in our Notes from the Northwest (NftN) newsletter, Volume 01, Issue 04. Find past issues of NftN here.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Today

Guest Contributor: Theresa Krack

In 2013, I was asked by my local Girl Scout council to help promote STEM as a part of “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” that year. They asked me to share my story on how I was introduced to STEM, what got me interested in STEM, and the importance of certain individuals in influencing my STEM education/career choice. I am happy to share this same story with my fellow SWEsters in PNW!

A long time ago, in a school not so far away… I learned that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) were topics that I was passionate about learning. When I was in grade school, I was the girl that always checked out the science books. My favorites were the books on the planets in the solar system –my mom has told me I would bring them home week after week, even if I had read them before. From that early age, I knew I loved things related to science.

As I grew older, I discovered that there were some pretty cool things you could do when applying science knowledge. In middle school, I did a research paper on the science behind Star Trek and looked at how the science in the show might actually become reality in the future. In sixth grade, I had the opportunity to attend Space Camp in Florida – possibly one of the best weeks ever! I got to miss a week of school (a pretty great thing as a kid) and spent a week learning about space sciences and applications.

When I got to high school, I took my first physics class. My teacher inspired me to not only learn what we needed for the test, but to also apply my critical thinking skills to the math and science that we were learning.

These experiences taught me about myself – that I wanted to not only know how and why things work (why I like physics and science), but to try and make them better (why I’m involved in engineering, Girl Scouts, and the Society of Women Engineers).

I went on to college, earning degrees in Physics (with a Math minor) and Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics. Now I work as an aircraft certification engineer, reviewing design data packages and regulations to ensure that everything is in order and safe to fly. My first major project was to certify the use of cell phones on airplanes in Europe. I even made several trips to Europe to present our project plan and findings, all within the first two years on the job – how cool is that?

I have had some great mentors over the years, from teachers to my parents, who have made all the difference in my journey. They each helped me discover a different aspect of my passion for STEM-related topics and provided guidance and encouragement for the next steps of my trek to a STEM career. I have given back by volunteering with the SWE, teaming up with Girl Scouts, and evening helping with my company’s outreach events – I love to pay it forward and inspire today’s girls to explore STEM fields.

My challenge to the adults, whoever you are, is to be a mentor and encourage the girls in your life to find their passion. You don’t need to be an expert in the area where the girls have their passion – just stand beside them as they go on their journey. Being in a STEM field myself, I strongly encourage you to make science, technology, engineering, and math cool and encourage girls to explore these paths to hopefully find their passion.

My challenge to the girls out there, whatever your age, is to look for a mentor and ask them for advice – it is always an honor to be asked to be a mentor! If you aren’t sure where you want to go or what you want to do, check out the STEM fields. Keep your eyes open for opportunities that will spark your passion and give you the chance to shine. Ask questions and never give up on learning something new! And, when you are older, remember that you too can be a mentor, and pay it forward to the next generation, inspiring girls of the future on their journeys.

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This guest article is part of SWE PNW's Contributor's Choice series, where section members submit a topic/article that they'd like to share with the section. A version of this article was originally published on the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast (GSWISE) blog as a part of Engineers Week 2013.

Looking for Guest Contributors

New in 2017, SWE PNW will be launching several series of themed blog posts - and we need your help!

The Virtual Brand Team has been busy brainstorming series and topics. Now we are looking for SWE members from the Puget Sound area (PNW, SPS, MALs) that would be will to be a guest contributor to our blog, Rainy Day Reads.

Don't worry, you'll be working with the Virtual Brand Team and we'll be helping to coordinate topics, editing, and posting. We'll even help provide prompts and starting points for the series as we can.

Without further ado (and maybe a little bit of a drum roll), here are just a couple of topics/series the Virtual Brand Team is looking for authors for:

SWE Perspectives
This series of blog posts highlights our members experiences with SWE, from why they joined to what they do now and why they find value in being a SWE member. It's a chance for our section members to share their unique perspective on SWE with other section members.

Everyday Engineering
This series is about seeing engineering in our everyday lives. It can capture and share your experiences while working, traveling, or even just exploring locally.

Contributor's Choice
Do you have a topic that you'd like to share with the section? This is the space for you. Send us your topic idea and we'll work to help get it shared out on our blog.

If you are interested in becoming a guest contributor, contact us at swe.pnw.virtual.brand@gmail.com

We hope that you'll consider becoming a guest contributor and we look forward to sharing your stories!

~The Virtual Brand Team

Inspire a girl to change the world!

The Society of Women Engineers is partnering with Techbridge, an award-winning national nonprofit that is engineering a revolution for girls to change the world through science, technology, and engineering. Since 2000, more than 6,000 girls from under-served communities have participated in Techbridge’s award-winning after school programs, which present technical concepts through fun, hands-on activities. Funded in part by the National Science Foundation, we expanded to Seattle in 2014.

Techbridge is recruiting passionate, dynamic women engineers to serve as role models through a one-time 90-minute commitment at a high-quality, comprehensive after-school program in the Highline School District (in Burien, SeaTac, and Seattle).

Techbridge will equip you with tips and ideas for engaging with the girls, and is especially looking for women from underrepresented ethnic groups to reflect the diversity of the girls they serve. In particular, Techbridge is looking for electrical, chemical, structural, and mechanical engineers to visit this winter.

Click here for a map of Techbridge’s Greater Seattle programs. For more information or to sign up, contact Callista Chen at cchen@techbridgegirls.org or 917.214.3203.

(Article by Dana Day; originally published in Notes from the Northwest, Volume 1, Issue 04)