CARE 2012 Workshop: Helping Promote Careers in Science for Women, Minorities
March 26, 2012
For more information, see the CARE 2012 website.
Brookhaven Women in Science (BWIS) of BNL and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) of Stony Brook University (SBU), with the support of BNL management, are organizing the CARE 2012 workshop on April 16 and 17 at BNL. CARE stands for “Career Advancement in Research Environment,” and the aim of CARE 2012 is to provide women and minority early career scientists and engineers with the skills and strategies necessary for career advancement in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM.
Triveni Rao, a senior physicist in the Instrumentation Division, and Simerjeet Gill, an assistant scientist in the Nuclear Science and Technology Department, are leading CARE 2012’s organizing committee. Their three-day training session in the FORWARD to Professorship Workshop — (FORWARD stands for Focus on Reaching Women for Academics, Research, and Development) held at Gallaudet University in May 2011 — laid the foundation for CARE 2012.
Studies have shown that the collective intelligence of a working group increases when there is gender balance in the group. Organizational structures, practices and cultures have a significant impact on fostering diversity in the workforce. Said Rao, “BWIS and WISE thought it was important to sponsor this workshop, not only to help young scientists advance their careers, but to expose the early career staff to the structures, practices and opportunities at their home institutions. Everyone profits.”
The first session of the workshop will discuss the tenure process at BNL and SBU, with talks and panel discussions to prepare the attendees for the next step on their career paths. In the second session, a number of program managers will discuss funding opportunities in their agencies and will critique proposal abstracts submitted by the participants. Day 2 will focus on the softer issues, such as mentoring and balancing an active career with a fulfilling personal life. Participants’ feedback on what they would like to see in a mentoring program will impact the future plans at both BNL and SBU. The informal format of the Work-Life balance session will not only cover the policies and practices at the workplace, but will also give insight into different approaches to address the most common challenges that participants face.
Financial support for CARE 2012 comes from a National Science Foundation grant funded through George Washington University. Additional information about the CARE workshop can be found at http://www.bnl.gov/care/.
2012-2968 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
