WLI Newsletter | Designing The Difference | Volume 15
Hi,
The Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) is excited to kick off 2024 with our first newsletter of the year! We are thrilled to introduce a lineup of new programs as well as the return of our established programs and annual events that promise to bring even more excitement and inspiration to our community. We’d also like to take this chance to thank Credo for their continued support as the Newsletter Sponsor!
Don’t forget to share this newsletter and encourage your colleagues to get involved. Subscribe nowso you don’t miss a future edition of Designing the Difference.
We invite YOU to join our efforts and make a difference. There are plenty of activities planned, so drop us an email at wli@gsaglobal.org if you’re interested in participating. We’d love to hear from you!
Once again, a big thank you to our newsletter sponsor, Credo!
-GSA WLI Team
EMEA WLI “Women in Semiconductors Conference” | March 13th, 2024 | London
Design the Solution Conference – Unlocking the Future: Exploring Career Opportunities in Semiconductors | April 11th, 2024 | University of Pavia, Italy
On Thursday December 7th GSA held its Annual Awards Dinner Celebrationat the Santa Clara Convention Center to recognize semiconductor companies and individuals that have demonstrated excellence through their success, vision, strategy, and future opportunities in the industry.
The Rising Women of Influence Award recognizes and celebrates emerging female leaders in the semiconductor industry. Companies nominated women with a strong technical foundation and educational background within their organization whom they anticipate will become integral corporate executives in the coming three to four years.
We extend our warmest congratulations to the 2023 nominees and to this year’s Rising Women of Influence Award recipient, Thy Tran, Vice President of Global Frontend Procurement at Micron Technology.
It is with great excitement that we begin the second year of this fantastic program! The Women in Hardware Mentorship (WHM) Program kicked off the pilot program in January 2023. It was founded by Antonella Oliva and senior industry women leaders with a goal to increase the presence of women in leadership positions in hardware engineering. It is the first and only across-companies mentorship program.
This year’s kick-off event took place in-person at Microsoft’s offices, on January 30th, 2024 and included a keynote presentation from Alexis Bjorlin, VP/GM of DGX Cloud at Nvidia, panels with the lead mentors and team building activities.
The WLI will hold its inaugural EMEA WLI Event “Women in Semiconductor,” the morning of the GSA International Conference in London on March 13th, 2024. If interested, please visit our events page.
There will be 2 keynote speakers: Maria Marced, Board Member of Ceva and IQE, and Former President of TSMC Europe, and Françoise Chombar, Co-founder, and Chair of the Board at Melexis. There will also be a panel discussion entitled: “Pathways to Success” and plenty of opportunities to network. We hope to see you there!
The Semiconductor Innovation for NetZero is a unique event in partnership with the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) to jointly explore the effects of semiconductor innovation in anticipation to a NetZero economy. There will be a unique audience of not only senior business leaders, with a significant representation from women (because of the WLI event that will kick-off the two-day conference), but also public policy officials (not only from the UK) and investors (because of a rich startup session and showcase in the afternoon of the second day).
WLI’s University Programming collaborates with sponsor companies’ university relations and early talent teams to build programs, establish targeted partnerships, and explore innovative ways to connect with students. These initiatives provide students opportunities to engage with and learn from women leading the semiconductor industry.
The Design the Solution Conference invites industry professionals to share their personal career journeys and highlight the importance of diversity of both thought and experience in driving innovation. Representatives from several companies are also invited to attend to provide students with information on the wide range of opportunities and careers they can explore. If you or your company are interested in participating in upcoming university events please contact our University Programs Manager, Lara Raich, lraich@gsaglobal.org.
On the 6th of February 2024, WLI hosted its first Design the Solution Conference of the year at MIT! The conference opened with a collaborative keynote presentation given by Katie Eckermann, Director of Business Development at AMD and John Wuu, Senior Fellow Design Engineer at AMD. Later, Deb Dyson from Marvell Technology moderated a panel focused on guiding students to the different pathways to a career in semiconductors. The panel featured Rose Castanares, VP Business Management at TSMC, Kate Shamberger, Field Technical Director for the Americas at Analog Devices, and Thy Tran, VP of Global Frontend Procurement at Micron Technology, and last year’s Rising Women of Influence Award recipient! Thank you again to our speakers, attendees and participating companies! Students were able to network with representatives from multiple companies, including: AMD, ADI, Arm, Cadence, Cisco, Marvell, Micron, Samsung and Synopsys.
Thank you to all who participated and made this possible! A special thank you to Tom Gearty, Director of Communications and Initiatives, Massachusetts Institute of Technology for giving us a tour of the fascinating MIT Nano Lab at the Dr. Lisa Su Building (group tour photo) and to Professor Farnaz Nirouri, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology for collaborating with us on organizing this event!
We are proud to share our upcoming Q1 University Programming Schedule:
Design the Solution Conference: Navigate Your Way to a Career in Semiconductors
WLI showcases inspirational women in the semiconductor industry on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. We ask submitting companies for 1-2 photos of the selected woman, a brief explanation about why she was selected, and any other relevant information, such as why she loves working in the industry or a personal anecdote about her experience. Submissions can be sent to marketing@gsaglobal.org.
New Weekly Career Advice Campaign
We are currently developing a new social media campaign entitled “Career Tips of the Week.” Female leaders in the semiconductor industry are invited to explore and share their expertise to empower other women in the industry by offering tips and guidance. Participants will use their years of experience to provide insights that can help women navigate and build a successful career in the dynamic field of semiconductors. Your advice can make a meaningful impact on shaping the path for women in the industry. If interested in participating, please contact marketing@gsaglobal.org.
WLI Speaker’s Bureau
The Speaker’s Bureau serves as a database of women who can speak on business trends, market drivers, and technical topics. WLI is committed to promoting female leadership and welcomes any level of expertise to participate.
Women in Leadership Speaker Series
The webinar series is open to anyone and everyone and is designed to empower and equip industry professionals and university students with the essential skills and mindset to become outstanding leaders. This series brings together visionary thinkers, accomplished professionals, and renowned experts to share their invaluable insights and experiences.
*All webinars are livestreamed and on demand. You can access previous recordings here!*
Key findings reveal a significant push for increased representation of women in the workforce by 2030, with plans and goals set by 60% of companies.
Attrition rates among women have decreased according to 56% of respondents.
However, promotions remain sluggish, with over 50% of women spending 5+ years before advancing to managerial levels.
While recognition and mentorship programs are prevalent, sponsorship and allyship initiatives lag behind.
Despite a commitment to equality measures, only 27% of DEI strategies are formally measured, indicating room for improvement in holding management accountable.
Visit the FAQ for more information and reach out to wli@gsaglobal.org to participate in future surveys.
Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd (Nasdaq: CRDO) (“Credo”), an innovator in providing secure, high-speed connectivity solutions today announced that Kate Schuelke will join Credo as Chief Legal Officer (CLO) and Corporate Secretary on January 26, 2024. Ms. Schuelke brings more than 30 years of legal technology industry experience to Credo, having most recently served as CLO of Seagate Technology LLC where she oversaw all legal functions, including the global security and government relations teams.
Renesas Electronics Corporation has grown substantially over the past numerous years through various acquisitions. These acquisitions have not only added to the technological expertise of the company and the company’s product offerings, but also contributed to the richness of the company’s cultural makeup. People who have joined the company have brought different experiences from their past roles and organizations as well as different personal and cultural experiences.
In this edition of the WLI Entrepreneurial Blog, we present you Tamara Baksht, CEO of VisIC Technologies Ltd. We hope you enjoy learning about her and her journey.
