Every year the WiC board selects a chemist in academia and or in industry/policy to speak about their careers. These seminars are held with the goal to not only recognize speakers' contributions to chemistry, but also to learn about how gender influences our experiences in science.
To further expose members of our community to diverse careers in science, we host a career panel. Panels are composed of 3-5 industry scientists whose backgrounds are in chemistry.
In addition to our 3 seasonal events described above, WiC holds a variety of events year-by-year. Examples include the interactive womens' "PowerHour" hosted by Nancy Gray, or small more casual coffee hours and breakfasts with CCE invited speakers.
To create opportunities for CCE members to meet each other and make closer connections between labs we host department social events like wine and cheesecake nights and our our cookie meet and greet at visitation weekends. This year we will introduce online discussion groups, offering female* grad students and postdocs a safe space to share challenges they may be facing.
In addition to our work on campus, WiC has been working on expanding our efforts to engage women* in science to our broader community in Pasadena. Our 2019-2020 board organized an all-expense paid for campus visit for 5th and 6th graders in the PUSD. The visit included a presentation on careers in science by Professor Sarah Reisman, lab tours, chemistry demos and liquid nitrogen ice cream! The 2020-2021 board established our (now annual) scholarship program for PUSD high school seniors. With guidance from a grad student mentor, enrolled students create presentations on topics related to sustainability. Winning presentations are awarded a scholarship towards their college education.
