WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
ENGR 075 – Section 010
Description:
This class looks at the transformative role women play in promoting prosperity and human progress through technology and innovation. The class will shine a light on the remarkable women who are building companies and technologies that transform the way we live and work, and who are paving new paths for female entrepreneurship and gender equality. It will also look at the challenges that women in tech continue to face, including sexism, gender discrimination, unconscious bias, impostor syndrome and more. This one credit class will explore the issues over 7 sessions, meeting once weekly. The class will feature a number of guest lectures by female tech leaders who will offer points of view on the issues, and share their experiences as a guidepost for success.
Topics:
● Why diversity (gender, race, culture) matters in the workplace, especially in tech
● Entrepreneurship and the challenges/opportunities facing female founders
● Breaking the glass ceiling: the path to leadership for women in tech
● The “leaky” pipeline: how do we attract and retain more women in tech?
● The importance of coaching and mentoring young women in tech
● Venture capital’s diversity problem, and how we fix it
● Why “soft skills” matter: emotional intelligence, authenticity, communication skills
● The next “big thing”: future trends in tech
Instructor:
Samantha Walravens, Adjunct Professor & Co-author, Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech. Columnist at Forbes.
Samantha Walravens
Samantha Walravens is a journalist, author, educator, and advocate for diversity and innovation in technology. She is an Adjunct Professor at Lehigh University, where she teaches courses exploring technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the people and ideas shaping the future of engineering.
Through her teaching, Samantha draws on more than two decades of experience spanning journalism, technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Her work examines how diverse perspectives, unconventional ideas, and interdisciplinary collaboration can drive innovation and help create technologies that better serve society.
Samantha is the author of two books, the New York Times-acclaimed TORN: True Stories of Kids, Career & the Conflict of Modern Motherhood (2011) and Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech (2017). She is also a columnist for Forbes and has written for publications including The Huffington Post, Elle, and ModernMom.
A sought-after speaker, Samantha speaks nationally on technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership, and diversity and inclusion. She has delivered talks, workshops, and keynotes for organizations including Facebook, Google, Visa, and Goldman Sachs, as well as universities including Princeton and UC Berkeley. She has also spoken at the Watermark Conference, Women of the Channel, and the Society of Women Engineers, and has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, and NPR.
In addition to her academic and writing work, Samantha is a member of Pipeline Angels, an angel network investing in early-stage companies. She serves on the Alumni Schools Committee for Princeton University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary.
Samantha holds a master’s degree in English Literature and Women’s Studies from the University of Virginia.