Building the Foundation of Women in Engineering
Abstract
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014), women make up 47% of the United State’s workforce, but are under-represented in some of the higher paying science and engineering occupations. Why is this? What can we do to increase the presence of women in engineering? This discussion examines what is needed to build a better foundation of women in engineering. Women and men are invited to join this discussion.Speakers
Jennifer Adams
Women in Tech Forum Chair, Chesapeake Regional Tech Council
Jennifer Adams,Vice President of Operations and General Council of Resilience Technology Company, has spent most of her career in private law and consulting practice. Her predominant areas of experience are in business law and litigation, government contracts, technology, e-commerce and Internet law. Jennifer has worked with software developers and Internet businesses with respect to protection of technology rights, copyrights and trademarks, software licensing, protection of key personnel, Internet agreements, and e-commerce litigation issues. She has also advised start-up and growing firms in a variety of industries, including technology firms, through mergers and acquisitions, securing private and institutional financing, crafting partnerships and joint venture relationships, developing internal operating plans, employment strategies, and corporate governance.
Jennifer currently volunteers as Chair of the Women in Tech Forum of the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council. She received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and holds degrees from Cornell University and University of Maryland, College Park. She lives and works in Annapolis, Maryland.
Kim Bowmaster
President, INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter Women In System Engineering (WISE)
Kim Bowmaster worked with INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter to start the WISE initiative to increase the representation of women in systems engineering within industry, academia, and government. WISE has been heavily engaged within the local engineering community, supporting a variety of mentorship, educational, and networking events for both young and experienced women that are interested in the engineering discipline. In addition to leading events and outreach initiatives within the chapter, Kim is currently working with INCOSE at the international level to develop WISE initiatives across other chapters, using Chesapeake Chapter as a model. Prior to her recent involvement with INCOSE, Kim was responsible for leading technical training initiatives for the AFCEA Central Maryland organization.
Kim is currently the Director of Business Development and Strategic Planning at ClearEdge IT Solutions. She has spent the last 15 years in technical and programmatic leadership roles, though began her career as a software engineer developing multi-threaded batch and stream processing systems and components. She received an Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management and a B.S. in Computer Science from UMBC. She has also earned and maintained a variety of certifications, including Certified System Engineering Professional (CSEP), Certified Scrum Master (CSM), and Project Management Professional (PMP).