Description: The goal of this discussion is to raise awareness among our lab community of the systemic issues faced by women of color in (and pursuing) tech careers and to outline potential actions to help the national laboratory complex increase the success of woman of color in tech. This event is open to staff from all national laboratories and DOE.

Argonne National Laboratory Director Paul Kearns will host the event, which will include opening remarks from U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science and Innovation Geri Richmond. A summary of the recently published National Academies Report Transforming Trajectories for Women of Color in Tech will be presented by report committee co-chairs Valerie Taylor, division director, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Distinguished Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory, and Evelynn M. Hammonds, the Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and professor of African and African American studies at Harvard University, along with consensus study committee member, Mia Ong, senior research scientist and evaluator at Technical Education Research Center (TERC).

A panel discussion will follow. Panelists include:

• Sandra Begay, principal technical staff member, Sandia National Laboratories
• J’Tia Hart, chief science officer, Idaho National Laboratory
• Daniela Ushizima, staff scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

World-class science depends on building a competitive, diverse workforce that can apply a variety of talents and perspectives. This discussion will focus on key issues affecting diversity, equity, and inclusion at the national laboratories and similar institutions: the reasons and potential solutions for the underrepresentation of women of color in the tech workforce.