What Girls in Robotics achieved in 2021 and what’s coming subsequent in 2022

It’s been a tough 12 months for girls all around the world, and I’d prefer to thank everybody who has contributed to Girls in Robotics in 2021, whether or not you’ve merely shared details about your self in our group #intros channel, or organized a web based occasion, or made your self obtainable as an advisor in our pilot mentoring program. Maybe you’ve been furthering our mission in an ‘unofficial’ method just by supporting different ladies, and non-binary folks, who’re working in robotics, or who’re excited by working in robotics. 

We acknowledge and admire the group constructing work that girls do, which is so usually out of the highlight, and on prime of every little thing else. Girls’s work has hardly ever been given financial worth as one in all my heroes Marilyn Waring wrote in “Counting for Nothing”. She based feminist economics, now known as triple backside line accounting, and altered the best way that the World Financial institution and different world organizations consider economies. 

The pandemic has compelled ladies out of the workforce at twice the speed of males, leaving ladies’s participation within the workforce decrease than it’s been for 30 years. And the strain exhibits no signal of stopping. Nonetheless, I consider that at any time when ladies are compelled to step backwards, we transfer ahead once more with renewed willpower and focus. And so my inspiration is renewed to additional the mission of Girls in Robotics, to help ladies and non-binary individuals who work in robotics, and those that wish to work in robotics. We might all discover it exhausting to search out time, however small actions in the suitable time and place can transfer mountains. 

In 2021, our annual showcase featured not 25 or 30 however ‘50 ladies in robotics it’s essential to find out about’ from 21 totally different nations, from business, startups and academia, with explicit point out of the ladies featured who’ve fought for the rights of refugees and persecuted ladies, particularly the Afghanistan Girls’s Robotics Workforce. For different ladies, this recognition has helped to lift their profile inside universities or corporations, resulting in elevated alternatives.

Our annual record additionally implies that there’s no excuse for not together with ladies in conferences, articles, coverage making, job searches and so on. In 2022, I’d like to see us create wikipedia pages for extra ladies in robotics, and create a speaker database, and a quotation record, just like what Black in Robotics has carried out, and the work of 500 Girls Scientists. 

The work of ladies in science remains to be much less more likely to be cited than that of males. Current UNESCO analysis has discovered that quotation bias is the beginning of profession lengthy lack of recognition for girls, beginning with ladies citing themselves much less usually than males do. In 2022, let’s give attention to enhancing quotation charges, rising the variety of ladies in panels, journals and conferences, or holding organizers accountable. We are able to goal rising the variety of ladies cited in robotics curricula, studying lists and coursework. As a company we are able to attain out to universities, labs, conferences and journals in a method that particular person ladies can’t.

One other grassroots marketing campaign that we began was the Girls in Robotics Picture Problem, which has already resulted in some nice new pictures of ladies constructing robots becoming a member of the picture search outcomes. Since then we’ve realized that peculiar google or wikipedia search steer you to Sophia or intercourse robots, relatively than referencing actual ladies constructing robots. It’s additionally time to retire the phrase ‘unmanned’. Girls in Robotics is planning to request that any college nonetheless referencing ‘Unmanned’ Autos ought to substitute with driverless, uncrewed or a greater time period.

The shortage of in particular person conferences is severely impacting the advantages of in particular person networking at a senior stage for girls in robotics, and so we’d prefer to lastly launch our Advisory Board by a web based networking occasion(s) for senior ladies in robotics, each in academia and business..

We piloted our first mentoring program over 12 weeks with 16 ladies and it was a really profitable expertise for nearly each participant. We all know that there’s a lot of demand to run this system once more however we’ll want extra volunteers to assist manage the occasions and match mentors/mentees. That is one space by which sponsorship for Girls in Robotics might be helpful, however sponsorship comes with a big administrative price, so we’ll solely search sustainable main sponsorships in 2022.

My gratitude goes to CITRIS & the Banatao Institute, by the Individuals and Robots Lab, for offering me with some funding for the final two years that has allowed me to spend a few of my time on Girls in Robotics, Black in Robotics and the Society, Robots and Us Seminars. 

My name to motion is so that you can make your volunteer labor impactful by investing your time in a name to motion with an enormous final result. I hope it’s one in all our Girls in Robotics actions, however in every little thing you do you characterize ladies in robotics and allies. Finest needs to you all for 2022. And thank you to the 2021 Girls in Robotics Board of Administrators! Our full Annual Report is right here.

1. Counting for Nothing (initially If Girls Counted) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_Women_Counted by Marilyn Waring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Waring
2. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/19/great-resignation-mothers-forced-to-leave-jobs
3. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/women-and-middle-managers-will-lead-the-great-resignation-into-2022/
4. https://en.unesco.org/information/unesco-research-shows-women-career-scientists-still-face-gender-bias

Reflections from the Girls in Robotics Board of Administrators:

We’re very grateful for the work of our Board Members over the past 12 months and we thank Kerri Fetzer-Borelli, Hallie Siegel and Ariel Anders for his or her imaginative and prescient and expertise on the 2020 and 2021 Board. We’re delighted to have them be part of our Advisory Board in 2022.

Allison Thackston:

Girls in Robotics group and help in 2021 was totally different from earlier years after we relied lots on native chapters, meetups, and networking.  With many places of work locked down and folks extra hesitant to do occasions in particular person, we’ve struggled a bit.  On the intense facet, we’ve been citing our on-line presence, enhancing our web site, and rising our social media outreach.  Within the 12 months forward, I hope we proceed this development.

Cynthia Yeung:

Launching the Venture Advance mentorship program was a spotlight of my service on the WiR board in 2021. Now we have acquired plenty of nice suggestions from the inaugural cohort which we are able to use to enhance the programming for the second cohort in 2022. One of many key success metrics was the proportion of returning mentors (demand is limitless in two-sided marketplaces; provide is the constraint) and we’re happy to report that each one mentors are excited by returning for the second cohort. It’s personally gratifying to be ready to implement the type of program that I needed to have entry to earlier in my profession. On a macro stage, I consider that robust focus and measurable progress on a small variety of initiatives will bode nicely for WiR’s impression roadmap.

Lisa Winter:

2021 was a 12 months of self-reflection and a take a look at of endurance. I believe 2022 would be the 12 months when loads of us take larger dangers as we strive to determine a greater work/life steadiness. I wish to see extra communication on the WiR Slack, particularly giving job recommendation and engineering recommendation. What I take pleasure in about different websites that I believe we might incorporate is extra sharing of non-public tasks; connecting over them and likewise studying.

Laura Stelzner:

WiR gives group and  help in a area the place it may be lonely being one of many few ladies at your organization/division.  As the sphere of robotics grows we wish to present ladies and non-binary folks all of the superb profession alternatives that exist, by offering them with mentorship,  networking, management and profession development alternatives.

Laurie Linz:

2021 was a quiet 12 months for Boulder/Denver, we didn’t maintain any native (in particular person)  conferences. I do have excellent news and that’s I’m in course of with organising some in particular person occasions once more. We’ll strategy with warning given the covid scenario, however joyful to be beginning once more. 

WiR helps ladies stage up or launch their profession in robotics. We welcome these not able to launch with networking and academic help. Be taught, launch, stage up.

Sue Keay:

One of many considerations that retains me awake at night time is questioning what essential challenges we’d have solved already and what applied sciences are lacking due to the shortage of variety in robotics. That’s why Girls in Robotics exists, to assist to help the small variety of ladies who’re contributing to growing robotic applied sciences and to encourage extra to hitch our ranks. The worldwide record of ladies in robotics has been an essential strategy to sign the essential contributions that girls are making on this area and to lift the profile of robotics as a legitimate profession alternative for girls. Becoming a member of WiR is acknowledging that we could be doing higher with variety in robotics and will present a lot wanted help to a lady in robotics who could also be questioning their purpose for remaining in such a male-dominated area. My very own expertise has been that girls have at all times been my best supporters and I really feel much less alone by being a part of WiR.

Sue Keay (Robotics Australia) with Erin McColl (Toyota Analysis Institute) with a Ghost Robotics platform.