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Women’s Economic Empowerment On May 4, 2018, first
year UW Astronomy & Astrobiology graduate student Guadalupe Tovar
participated in the "Women’s Economic Empowerment – Breaking Gender Barriers
and Advancing Equity.” panel. The forum was organized by the UW Scandinavian
Studies department in collaboration with the Danish embassy. Her Royal
Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was a keynote speaker and she
addressed the importance of gender equality work. Panelists from the Gates
Foundation, World Vision, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW),
and the UW all contributed to the discussion on gender equity. Tovar was the only student on the panel and spoke
about her experiences as a first-generation college student in a male
dominated PhD program. When asked to address what has helped keep her and
other women in STEM, Tovar shared the importance of representation. "It was not until I met another women
of color thriving in the field of Astrophysics that I started to see myself
pursuing a similar career, which was powerful and emphasizes how much
representation matters.". Tovar was also asked to address the areas
where she thinks the pipeline of women in STEM could improve: " We need
to amplify the voices and work of women already in the field. To do this we
need to learn to pass the mic for people to share their own stories. At the
same time, when creating new programs or hosting panels that focus on women
empowerment and gender equity we need to make sure that everyone has a seat
and voice at the table. " The panel concluded with remarks from the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark followed by questions from the audience.
All in all, the forum shed light on the work that we all need to continue
doing in order to break down gender barriers and continue advancing equity. A
recording of the event can be found on UWTV.
From
left to right: Anders Samuelsen (Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark),
Sabine Lang (UW Professor), Sarah Gammage (ICRW),
Guadalupe Tovar (UW Student), Her Royal Highness Princess Mary, Margaret
Schuler (World Vision), Sarah Hendriks (Gates Foundation), Sarah Kambou (panel moderator) |
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