The Women of Color STEM Conference has announced its debut Women to Watch Summit, scheduled for Friday, May 6 in STEM City USA. Click here to register.

The STEM City USA metaverse was created to bring people together virtually and in person. Career Communications Group, the company that produces the Women of Color STEM Conference and publishes Women of Color magazine, is dedicated to highlighting the accomplishments of women in STEM.

Loredana Crisan, vice president of messaging experience for Facebook Messenger and Instagram at Meta, is the cover of the spring issue of Women of Color magazine and one of the influential faces at the online event.

The Women to Watch Summit, taking place in STEM City USA this year, aims to celebrate women making a difference. Women will come together to share their achievements, vulnerabilities, and struggles as minorities in the workforce.

Nikkie Stevens, a communications and sourcing specialist with Career Communications Group (CCG), and Faye Gruzinski, CCG events content manager, will host the first-ever Women to Watch summit in STEM City USA. This event is a thank you to the women working hard each day to make positive contributions and a recognition event for the women who deserve praise.

“This summit is something I’m extremely passionate about. Of course, I wish I could snap my fingers, and the positive change we want to see in the world happen, but that’s not the case,” Gruzinski said. “What I want to accomplish is to bring serious issues to light while providing validation and a safe space for women of all walks of life.”

The summit will include two seminars on relatable topics such as worker burnout, how to approach differences in the workplace, and how to manage sexism and racism. It will allow women to share their experiences balancing and filling several roles in their families and work. Gruzinski said the second seminar would focus on what workers and companies can do to provide a better work environment.

“We will discuss what we want for the next generation. I want to talk about the nitty-gritty that flows into the change we want to see for the future,” Gruzinski said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many shifts in people’s way of life, some good and some bad. A team of researchers from a collaborative, multi-university project called SciOPS (Scientist Opinion Panel Survey) conducted two surveys to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected people in research fields.

They found that women and early-career researchers struggled the most with disruptions and stress during the pandemic. Their 2020 survey found that 34 percent of women scientists reported disruptions due to unexpected childcare responsibilities, compared to 21 percent of men researchers. Early career researchers also struggled with incidental childcare duties and said this negatively impacted their research efforts.

According to the surveys, about 43 percent of assistant professors fell into this category. When combined, 50 percent of respondents, who are female and assistant professors, reported an inability to concentrate on their research efforts, making it difficult to perform essential tasks. Meanwhile, only 29 percent of researchers who are men and 36 percent of senior colleagues reported that childcare activities interfered with their work duties.

The obstacles only worsened from 2020 to 2021. Women reported having struggled to maintain relationships. These setbacks caused women to miss important deadlines and struggle with projects, resulting in less work to show than at pre-pandemic levels.

This trend is especially noticeable in women who are mothers. While many lines of work have seen a shortage in their workforce, women in research have been leaving the field at higher rates than their men colleagues.

Mental health is essential to being a productive collaborator. Still, with obstacles like motherhood, financial issues, and relationship problems, it may seem difficult for a working mother to catch a break.

Stevens said she would like to create a safe space for women to express themselves freely to other women, and this seminar is an opportunity for that vulnerability. She said she sees firsthand the obstacles the pandemic has caused, especially for women of color. “Women are expected to do so much, never mind having to keep up with work duties. I think it’s important to provide spaces for women to talk to each other; we’re much more similar than we think,” Stevens said.

When asked what she sees for the future of Women to Watch, Stevens said, “women are taking over.”

As the presence of women in STEM continues to evolve, Women of Color magazine hopes to provide visibility to women who have historically been invisible. Women need to uplift and encourage each other in all endeavors, no matter their differences.

“I see the summit growing into something that people will watch to get inspired,” Stevens said. I know the women that attend will give their insight, and if someone hears a similar life story, it will inspire them to thrive.”

Save the Date: 2022 Women of Color in STEM® Women to Watch

Click here to register.