WLI Newsletter | Designing The Difference | Volume 16
Hi,
The Women's Leadership Initiative (WLI) has been incredibly active over the past few months, engaging in university programming conferences, hosting in-person meetings and events, and the launch of our new Allyship Program! Keep reading for more information on what we’ve been up to, including our Women in the Semiconductor Industry survey updates, upcoming events, and some excellent articles from industry experts!
We invite YOU to join our efforts in making a difference. There are plenty of activities planned, so drop us an email if you're interested in participating. We value your input and would love to hear from you!
We'd also like to take this opportunity to give a big THANK YOU to Credo for their continued support as our WLI Newsletter Sponsor!
Don’t forget to share this newsletter and encourage your colleagues to get involved. Subscribe nowso you never miss a future edition of Designing the Difference.
Once again, a big thank you to our newsletter sponsor, Credo!
-GSA WLI Team
WLI Austin Lunch and Learn Event | August 27th, 2024 | Austin, TX
Design the Solution Conference University Event | August 28th, 2024 | University of Texas at Austin
Design the Solution Conference University Event | September 19th, 2024 | Texas A&M University
Design the Solution Conference University Event | October 17th, 2024 | Purdue University
Mark your calendars for the highly anticipated 2024 Women in Semiconductor Hardware (WISH) Conference! Taking place on November 7 at the San Jose Convention Center, this technical conference will bring together industry luminaries, entrepreneurs, and university women in STEM and celebrate the women who have helped break the glass ceiling of the semiconductor industry and those following in their footsteps.
Building on the success of WISH 2023, which had over 500 attendees, this year’s conference promises to be even bigger and better!
In support of WISH, we are accepting abstracts from female engineers in the following categories:
The Dr. Lisa Su Woman of Innovation Award recognizes female individuals, such as its namesake, Dr. Lisa Su, for their remarkable dedication and exceptional contributions to drive the development, innovation, growth and long-term opportunities for the semiconductor industry.
The Female Up & Comer Award recognizes and profiles the next generation of young women in the semiconductor industry. Companies are encouraged to identify women with a technical background and education within their organization who have been in the industry five years or less and have made exceptional contributions toward the development, innovation, growth and success in their short time in the industry.
The Designing the Difference Award recognizes companies who are making a significant and measurable impact on advancing the industry through diversity and inclusion.
The GSA Rising Women in Semi Award will recognize three to four female nominees who are considered rising leaders by their individual companies. These nominees should have made exceptional contributions toward the development, innovation, growth, and success of the semiconductor industry and made a huge impact during her time in the industry, which should be more than 10 years but less than 20 years.
This award will be presented at the GSA Awards Celebration on Dec. 5. The Women of Influence Award recognizes and profiles the next generation of women leaders in the semiconductor industry. Companies are encouraged to identify women with a technical background and education within their organization that they believe will be one of their key corporate executives over the next three years.
WLI and Accenture explored the annual Women in Semiconductor Industry Survey results and themes during a collaborative webinar, that took place on March 20th. It provided an overview of the research approach, summarizing emerging industry themes and presenting what the key findings have revealed, to include:
Plans and goals set by 60% of companies to push for increased representation of women in the workforce by 2030.
Attrition rates among women have decreased according to 56% of respondents.
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.
Despite a commitment to equality measures, only 27% of DEI strategies are formally measured, indicating room for improvement in holding management accountable.
The GSA WLI team also highlighted existing WLI programs aligned with survey trends and offered a glimpse into upcoming events and programs. If you weren’t able to join the webinar live, you can find it here.
WLI’s newly launched EMEA Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) held its first Women in Semiconductor Conference, which showcased the achievements and experiences of exceptional women who have excelled in navigating a traditionally male-dominated industry.
The EMEA WLI kickoff event coincided with Day 1 of the GSA International Semiconductor Conference in London, a unique event, in partnership with the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) that explored the effects of semiconductor innovation in anticipation to a NetZero economy.
It showed to be a significant milestone in fostering diversity and inclusion within the semiconductor industry, setting the stage for future growth and empowerment of women leaders in the EMEA region. We extend a big thank you to our sponsors NXP and imec for their support of this event.
Our first Lunch and Learn of the year took place on May 8th at Marvell’s offices in Santa Clara. Our aim for the Lunch and Learn series has been to offer a blend of executive and technical topics, featuring women who are leaders in their respective fields delivering inspiring keynote presentations and panel discussions. This invitation-only event also provided an excellent opportunity for professionals from different companies to connect and network, which we believe is essential for visibility and professional growth. A huge thank you to all of our amazing speakers!
Thank you to Marvellfor hosting this event! You can watch the event recording here.
The 2nd Annual Board-Ready Women’s Event took place on May 9th at the Tetra Hotel in Sunnyvale, California.This invitation only event was designed to bring together accomplished female directors, offering a platform for them to share insights on their career journeys and discuss their contributions to public boards, including tips on how they found the right board for them. By sharing their experiences, we aim to provide women in corporate leadership roles, who are seeking opportunities to further enrich their careers and make a meaningful impact on public boards of directors, with valuable guidance and inspiration.
We were pleased to have an incredible lineup of speakers:
Upcoming University Programming Schedule:
Design the Solution Conference: Navigate Your Way to a Career in Semiconductors
University of Texas at Austin – August 28th, 2024
Texas A&M University – September 19th, 2024
Purdue University – October 17th, 2024
Recent University Programming Events: Design the Solution Conference at Notre Dame
On March 26th, WLI hosted the Design the Solution Conference at Notre Dame.
Our panel, moderated by Rozi Roufoogaran from NXP, featured Ron Duncan from Synopsys, Jagjot Kaur from Siemens, Kevin Beauford from Cadence, and Krysten Stevens from Analog Devices. The keynote presentation was delivered by Yan Li, Vice President of Engineering, Memory Technology at Western Digital.
Thank you to everyone who participated and made this event possible, and a special thank you to our participating companies below!
Design the Solution Conferences Inspire Students in Italy
The WLI’s Design the Solution Conferences recently took place at the University of Pavia and the University of Bologna, offering invaluable insights and opportunities to students interested in the semiconductor industry.
University of Pavia - April 14th
On April 14th, the University of Pavia hosted a dynamic panel discussion, drawing over 70 students eager to explore diverse career paths in the semiconductor industry. Cristina Borelli, Silicon Catalyst Advisor, was joined by Anna Fontanelli of Monzukuri, Laura Aschei of Synopsys, Simona Cometti of Cadence, and Valentina Marazzi, PhD student of University of Pavia in collaboration with Marvell.
University of Bologna - May 16th
On May 16th, the University of Bologna saw a gathering of over 100 students who came to hear from industry experts. Cristina Borelli, Silicon Catalyst Advisor, Valentina Rigo of Analog Devices, Valeria Bottarel of NXP, and Valentina Nardone of STMicroelectronics led an engaging discussion on the future of semiconductors.
These successful events will continue in the fall, bringing knowledge and opportunities in the semiconductor industry to students across Italy. We look forward to inspiring and empowering the next generation of leaders in the semiconductor industry!
If you're interested in participating in upcoming university events or would like to become a sponsor, contact lraich@gsaglobal.org
We are excited to introduce WLI’s Allyship Program which involves women nominating men in the workspace who have shown consistent and intentional work to promote a culture of inclusion. Our purpose is to highlight individuals who actively support, mentor, and advocate for women in the workplace, fostering an environment where every voice is heard, and every talent is recognized. ​
WLI’s Women’s Leadership Council identified the “first class of allies” by nominating men who were instrumental in empowering and pushing forward the career of a female leader in the industry. A big congratulations to our new allies:
Nominations are now open! If there is a man in your workplace who deserves recognition for his support and advocacy for women, please click here to nominate him!
There is often a stigma associated with the word ambition as it is applied to women, and I do not understand why.
In a 2019 study from Northwestern University on gender stereotypes uncovered the fact that women were no longer regarded as less competent than men, but they were viewed as less ambitious! While, I cannot claim to have ever thought of myself – or my professional peers – as falling into the “less ambitious” bucket, let’s hope that the pandemic has offered some sort of break with this way of thinking.
Chandana leads Renesas’ Connectivity Division, overseeing a diverse array of product lines including Audio, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, UWB, Radar, and SubGHz, catering to various sectors such as Consumer, Smart Home, IoT, Industrial, and Automotive. With over two decades of experience, she has held pivotal product and engineering leadership positions at renowned companies including Intel, Qualcomm, Charter Communications, and Flarion Technologies.
Most recently, she spoke on the “Pathways to Success” panel during WLI Lunch and Learn event (May 8, Santa Clara, California).
When a successful person takes an interest in your career, it can be exciting. In fact, receiving guidance or mentoring is a huge factor in job satisfaction.
Marvell's ELEVATE program pairs women leaders with mentors who can help them ascend to another level in their careers – both on the job and in their own professional lives. It also contributes to filling the pipeline of future leaders at Marvell. Here are the stories from four of our leaders.