Wednesday, 8 March, 08:00-09:30, Ballroom 20A
The
2023 United Nation International Women’s Day theme is DigitALL: Innovation and
Technology for Gender Equity. In support of this, Program Chairs Fotini
Karinou, Microsoft Research Ltd, United Kingdom, Elaine
Wong, Univ. of Melbourne, Australia, and Nick Fontaine, Nokia
Bell Labs, USA invite you to join them Wednesday 8 March at 8:00 for
breakfast followed by a panel discussion to recognize and celebrate the
contributions of women in optical fiber communications.
Panelists
- Fae Gholami, IBM Systems, USA
- Michal Lipson, Columbia University, USA
- Bernhard Schrenk, Austrian Institute of Technology, Austria
- Jun Shan Wey, Verizon, USA
Panelists
will discuss their personal career path and the women who have inspired them
and explore the role women have played in innovation and in driving positive
transformation in science, technology and engineering. Topics
to be discussed:
- What is the value of diversity
of thought and what perspective brings to STEM?
- What are specific ways that
innovation and technological change can be leveraged to promote gender
equality and empower women, both in the field of optics and
telecommunications and in broader society.
- In what ways can technology and
innovation help to promote work-life balance and flexibility for women and
other underrepresented groups, and what are some of the barriers that need
to be removed to enable this so everyone can fully participate in the
workforce.
- What are skills or
qualities that young women are recommended to develop if they are
considering a career in technology or innovation?
- What are concrete actions
that we can take as individuals, and what can companies and organizations
take to support gender equity and inclusion in the field of optics through
innovation and technology.
