The Key To Innovation In Women’s Health Is Having More Women Inventors

female scientist using a pipette and dropping blue liquid into a petri dish

This June 18, 2021 piece from Science Alert shares the grim reality that in 2020, only 12.8 percent of U.S. inventors receiving patents were women. Why does that matter for women’s health? Because inventors are often inspired to find solutions to problems that hit close to home. With so few women inventors, the opportunity for women’s health concerns to be addressed is lessened. In fact, the piece highlights, “scientific discoveries by female scientists as measured by published research papers are 12 percent more likely to benefit women than discoveries by men.” The article ends by sharing, “biases in who gets to conduct research and commercialize inventions is more than a matter of who gets to play. It’s also a matter of who benefits from the march of progress.” Let’s all work to encourage the women inventors that we know!

Tips on How To Communicate At Work

woman sitting at computer at home - looking intently at screeen.

After a year of working remotely and from home, effective communication with co-workers is more important than ever. This CNBC article shares 5 phrases to avoid in your electronic communication – because it can make the sender appear passive aggressive or petty. The piece also shares ideas on how best to handle challenging professional situations when you can’t be face to face.

Millions Of Women Have Exited The Workforce – And May Not Return

silhouette of woman in motion and holding a briefcase

This recent segment from NPR’s Morning Edition discusses how the direct and indirect impact of the COVID pandemic drove women out of the workforce to be at home. With a return to “normal”, many women aren’t returning to their same roles. The article and accompanying audio segment shares some reasons as to why this might be the case – but one thing is clear from the segment and that is that a lot of women are thinking more about freelancing or launching their own enterprises. While being an entrepreneur may not provide the same financial security as a “traditional” job, it can provide flexibility that many – women especially – have come to see as critical over the past yet.

MSNBC Interview With US Vice President Kamala Harris

Cartoon drawing of US Vice President Kamala Harris

As part of the launch of Forbes‘ “50 Over 50” list, Vice President Kamala Harris sits down for an exclusive interview with MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski to discuss not evaluating herself based on age, eating ‘No’ for breakfast, working with women-owned small businesses and encouraging women and girls to know their strength. Click here to watch.

Link to webinar: Telling Your Story For Professional Success

Headshot of Liz Ngonzi from part 2 of her webinar series for eCornell

Click this link to see Liz Ngonzi’s (who is also course facilitator in our Women’s Entrepreneurship certificate program) presentation: “Telling Your Story for Professional Success: How to Align Your Purpose and Your Paycheck“.

This is the second in a two-part series which builds on her 2020 webinar entitled: “Your Personal Brand: Leveraging Your Unique Knowledge and Experience” (To view a recording of this webinar, click here.)

In this segment, Liz provides guidance on how to dig into the question “What is my purpose?” Clarity about your purpose can lead to the creation of a personal “work” story that will enable you to inspire, engage, and activate employers, clients, partners, and investors, thereby increasing the alignment of your purpose with your paycheck! 

Pioneering Women Will Appear on US Quarters

Pile of US Quarters spread out on a table

The US Mint is creating some new designs – featuring women – for the “tails” sides of quarters that will start circulating in January 2022 and run through 2025. The first two honorees have already been chosen: poet Maya Angelou and astronaut Sally Ride.

The other female honorees will be decided by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen – with input from the American public. To read more about the initiative, check out this article from CNN. Want to submit a suggestion for a nominee? Fill out this brief form provided by the National Women’s History Museum.

Saving Small Businesses

"come in we're open" sign hanging on the front door of a business

The US Chamber of Commerce has a helpful website that provides links to financial assistance programs, resources, and advice to help small business owners – which is particularly important as we continue to navigate the COVID pandemic. From national to state and local resources, the page is a great one to scroll through if you are a small business owner.

Do Men and Women Have Different Brains?

medical image of a brain

There have long been claims that women’s and men’s brains were different. leading to differences in personalities and abilities. While men’s brains overall brain size is a little over 10% larger than women’s, no specific brain areas are disproportionately larger between the sexes. In fact, brains are proportional to body size and when properly controlled, no individual brain region varies by more than about 1% between men and women.

Why does this matter? Have you ever heard,”women aren’t as good at math”? Or, “women are natural caregivers”. Or, “men are better with tools”? Turns out that there are no data to support those statements. In fact, according to this article from The Conversation, each brain is a “mosaic of circuits that control the many dimensions of masculinity and femininity, such as emotional expressiveness, interpersonal style, verbal and analytic reasoning, sexuality and gender identity itself.”

There is certainly more work to be done – but untangling some of these long-held beliefs is a great place to begin.

Big Bird and Impostor Syndrome?

Sesame Street characters including Big Bird

This article from Fast Company shares an example of how many women feel they stand out like Big Bird (a 8’2″ bright yellow bird featured on the children’s program, Sesame Street) in the workplace. Whether they are presenting in a boardroom, returning from maternity leave or simply navigating the day-to-day, many women feel disproportionately affected by impostor syndrome.

In this piece, Mark McClain (CEO of SailPoint) shares three tips for how leaders can help their employees overcome impostor syndrome. Specifically, he mentions making space for people to share their authentic selves, encouraging balance and practicing small acts of kindness.