In conjunction with Women of Color magazine, the Technology Recognition Luncheon at the annual Women of Color STEM Conference has honored women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) since 1995. This year, the event explored the theme: The Struggle. The Progress. The Future..

"Your determination, your talent, and your brilliance brought you here," said Dr. Amanda Goodson, senior leader for program management excellence in the missile systems division of Raytheon Technologies. "We all know the grind it took to get here and at this point in your career: breaking barriers and staying true to yourself. But you persisted. We all did. As you continue to grow in your careers, lean on each other, celebrate each other and look for opportunities to send the ladder down and help the next generation thrive."

Introducing winners from Jacobs Solutions, Kathleen Glaser, vice president for global information technology (IT), data, analytics, and digital enablement, said she was proud the engineering services company was a co-sponsor of the 2022 Women of Color STEM Conference.

"As a woman of color, I've had the pleasure of seeing progress made during my career," she said. "However, I am familiar with the struggle for equality in our world. I was fortunate to be able to attend college but after a time in the workforce, I knew I needed an advanced degree to be considered for leadership. I earned my master's degree while working full-time, and I earned about half of what my male counterparts earned. I felt alone, but I soon learned there are advocates and champions everywhere."

Thanks to an internal mentor-protege program, Glaser had access to "valuable business insights, active advocacy, and coaching" from a c-suite executive.

"I shared with him my IT domain knowledge and together, we advanced several initiatives that combined his business operations expertise and my IT capabilities," she said. "Our working partnership continued well beyond the formal mentor-protege program. Although our struggle is real, our progress is real, and the future is up to us," she said. We are here to celebrate the artists, the craftspeople, the bright stars, and the visionaries who have made outstanding contributions to their industries. As their employers, we salute them for their achievements in the workplace."

Pedro Rosario, divisional vice president of Abbott engineering, expressed gratitude for those who share their skills and use their deep experience to help solve critical challenges.

"Abbott is always proud to support Women of Color as it promotes diversity across science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields," he said. "Abbott comes to this conference year after year to support STEM and create pathways for the next generation of scientists and engineers to honor our pledge to help build tomorrow's diverse and innovative workforce. Diversity is critical to our success in helping people live healthier, better lives. Diversity in our labs and offices helps us continue to develop health innovations that positively impact people.

"We also know diversity is not easily achieved. Not all of us know what a STEM career can offer. And those who know don't always have the chance to get real hands-on experience to see it rise for them. That's why Abbott is taking real action and committing to increasing STEM opportunities. Last year, I shared at this conference that as far as Abbott's 2023 plan, we aim to create opportunities for more than 100,000 young people, including fifty percent from underrepresented groups, in our STEM programming and internships. I'm proud to report we've provided nearly 24,000 of these opportunities. These interns work across our company. Some support our innovative technologies, like the freestyle glucose monitor or the COVID-19 test. We also continue strengthening our partnership with HBCUs [Historically Black Colleges and Universities], HSIs [Hispanic-serving institutions], and other national diversity organizations. Internally, we offer employees leadership development opportunities, mentoring, and training. And we are stronger when we work with others. That's why we're proud to be here today, and we hope to see you again next year."

Cynthia Williams, global director for sustainability, homologation, and compliance with Ford Motor Company, said most of the public speaking she does is about electric cars and climate change strategies at the automotive company. Williams said representing Ford at the Women of Color Technology Luncheon was also "important work" that she loved to do.

"I've been involved in STEM for as long as I can remember," she said. "From where I stand and see today, we are making incredible progress. Diversity is crucial in enabling innovation. We need a range of experiences, expertise, and thought processes to develop the best solutions, new products, and services. Diversity enriches our lives in more ways than we can imagine, and we are an important part of making that happen. Ford is a proud signatory of the UN Women empowerment principles, a primary vehicle for corporate to deliver on gender, equity, and diversity. Our DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] north star is that we celebrate family and all belong. Be the bridge that guides young girls to STEM."

Titus Jeffries, vice president of the spatial solutions division at Leidos, said STEM is at the core of the company and key to connecting the breadth of work with clients, partners, and communities.

"STEM connects more than 45,000 Leidos employees," he said. "And creates professional and educational opportunities to build the next generation of talented women of color in STEM professionals. This year's conference theme, The Struggle. The Progress. The Future. recognizes and affirms that there is no excellence without women leaders."

At Leidos, Women of Color STEM awardees modernize systems, build next-generation AI [artificial intelligence]/ML [machine learning] capabilities, and support American industry and government partners.

Dot Mynahan, executive director for field operations and safety in the Americas at Otis Elevator Co., said the company aimed to achieve gender parity in leadership roles by 2030.

"Our CEO Judy Marks is a huge advocate for STEM and a role model, given her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Lehigh University, " she said. "At Otis, diversity, equity, and inclusion are ingrained in our culture. Five years ago, I co-founded Forward, an employee resource group (ERG) for women in field operations. We've grown from the original group of 12 people to 300 members across the Americas. Forward and our other women-focused ERGs help provide a support structure. They encourage women and all employees to shine."

Juanita Logan, area vice president for global corporate development at World Wide Technology, said women of color account for only four percent of C-suite leaders.

"This number hasn't moved significantly in the past three years," Logan said. "Women are more burned out than ever before. One in three have considered downshifting their career or leaving the workforce," she added. "Yet women are the true power grid as you've heard. We help team members navigate work-life challenges so that their workloads are manageable, check in on their overall well-being, prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion, and mentor employees from underrepresented groups. World Wide Technology also focuses on mental health, using feedback to shape policy and developing a pipeline of empowered women in STEM."