Women in Cognitive Science sponsored interactive panel discussion: Professional advancement, leadership and international collaboration

Women in Cognitive Science conducts panels at yearly meetings of several professional societies. Their goal is to increase attention to the situation of women cognitive scientists, to better understand the reasons for existing problems of under representation in key positions, and to provide a forum for professional development that encourages both junior and senior scientists to consider the ways in which they might work with their own home institutions to effect change. Specific topics have addressed networking and collaboration, best practices for institutional transformation, and issues of family and academic careers. Speakers and panelists have included both women and men who represented senior and junior scientists and topics have focused on the experience of both faculty and administration in negotiating these issues and in developing policies that are likely to support women’s success. Its history demonstrates that WICS is in a unique position to address the concerns of junior as well as senior scientists in their professional careers. The goal of a small "Connections" conference sponsored by the US National Science Foundation in Japan and the Japan Science and Technology Agency of Japan in 2010 was to establish networking connections between researchers and to strengthen international partnerships for collaboration. American and Japanese participants represented a variety of STEM disciplines. The primary goal of that meeting was to foster the research agendas of the participants. A secondary goal was to "help develop future leaders in science and engineering by encouraging discussion on the institutional environment and culture that are conducive to nurturing women STEM leaders."