Upcoming Events

If you are in need of an event scholarship or would like to donate to our scholarship program, please visit our scholarship page.

Feb 18

Rockstar Breakfast and Networking
February 18, 2020, 8:00 - 9:00 AM 

Location: LifeHub Boston, 610 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
Cost: $5 for members

Register  Add to Calendar 02/18/2020 8:00 AM 02/18/2020 9:00 AM America/New_York Rockstar Breakfast and Networking Are you looking for an opportunity to network with local senior leaders? If so, this is THE event for you. Enjoy a light breakfast accompanied by lots of conversation with Gary Conboy, Vice President, Oncology Development Operations; Head, Innovation Group - Oncology SBU at Bayer and Jon Giebel, Program Lead at Bayer LifeHub. Patrice Torcivia Prusko, Associate Director at Harvard Graduate School of Education will moderate the discussion. LifeHub Boston, 610 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

Feb 26

How to Advocate for Yourself
February 26, 2020, 6:00 - 8:30 PM 

Location: CIC, 245 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Mosaic Room, Cambridge, MA
Cost: $15 for members; $40 for non-members

Register  Add to Calendar 02/26/2020 6:00 PM 02/26/2020 8:30 PM America/New_York How to Advocate for Yourself We negotiate every day. At work we negotiate not just our jobs and salaries, but research priorities, budgets, staffing, deliverables and time tables. At home some of us negotiate child care pick up and drop off, who is making dinner and who stays home when the kids are sick. While men and women are equally skilled negotiators, women face some additional challenges. Not only were many of us not raised to advocate for our own interests, but we sometimes pay a social cost when we assert our needs and interests. We’ll dive into what we negotiate, our beliefs around advocating for ourselves, how to mitigate others’ negative perceptions when we assert our interests and two tools for increasing our effectiveness. You will leave with a better understanding of what is getting in your way and what to do about it. CIC, 245 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Mosaic Room, Cambridge, MA

MAr 3

Giving and Receiving Feedback
March 3, 2020, 6:00 - 8:30 PM 

Location: Ginkgo Bioworks, 27 Drydock Avenue, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02210
Cost: $15 for members; $40 for non-members

Register  Add to Calendar 03/03/2020 06:00 PM 03/03/2020 8:30 PM America/New_York Giving and Receiving Feedback Almost everyone struggles with giving and receiving feedback. Yet everyone struggles for different reasons: For some people, resistance to receiving feedback is tied to a fear of being judged, making mistakes, or failing. For others, offering feedback is associated with criticism. There are also cultural differences that impact how comfortable you are in giving or receiving feedback. Maybe for you, it’s simply that you haven’t learned the skills to make the process less stressful. All of this means that learning how to give meaningful feedback, is not one-size-fits-all. We’ll explore ways you can become more comfortable giving and asking for feedback. You’ll learn several simple, yet powerful, techniques to take the sting and awkwardness out of the feedback conversation. You’ll discover how to ask for and receive feedback in a way that feels natural to you. For managers, you’ll learn questions you can ask your team, to help YOU become a better manager. For all participants, you’ll learn ways to offer feedback to your peers, and even your boss! Participants will learn 4 basic steps to giving meaningful feedback in a way that feels safe for both the giver and receiver. You'll be able to apply these steps immediately, in your personal life, and in your career. Ginkgo Bioworks, 27 Drydock Avenue, 8th floor, Boston, MA 02210

MAr 12

Conflict Management: Effectively dealing with conflict
March 12, 2020, 6:00 - 8:30 PM 

Register  Add to Calendar 03/12/2020 06:00 PM 03/12/2020 8:30 PM America/New_York Conflict Management Conflict is…any situation in which your concerns or desires differ from those of another person. It occurs daily in organizations between colleagues, teams, staff, vendors, and customers. It occurs daily in all aspects of our lives. Conflict is inevitable and healthy in order for progress to occur. It is also a critical factor when managing change during many life stages of an organization. Yet it is one of the most difficult challenges we all continue to face. How do we manage conflict in an objective and skilled manner? Understanding our own conflict management styles as well as others can empower us to effectively manage conflict. There are five conflict management modes – Avoiding, Accommodating, Compromising, Collaborating and Competing. Recognizing our own style as well as others’ styles heightens our awareness allowing us to communicate more effectively. We have a choice in dealing with conflict. All five conflict-handling modes are available to us and this knowledge can give us a greater sense of control to steer conflicts in different directions by choosing different modes. This interactive session will review these five conflict-handling modes and allow attendees to practice the application of them on specific situations. Boston Marriott Cambridge, 50 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142

MAr 25

Women and Wealth: Setting Your Course to a Strong Financial Future
March 25, 2020, 6:00 - 8:00 PM 

Location: Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142
Cost: $0 for members; $5 for non-members

Register  Add to Calendar 03/25/2020 06:00 PM 03/25/2020 8:00 PM America/New_York Women and Wealth: Setting Your Course to a Strong Financial Future Women are a powerful economic force, controlling nearly 40%--or $11.2 trillion—of all investable assets in the U.S. as primary decision-makers. They also represent almost half of the entire U.S. professional workforce. However, women face unique financial challenges and the many roles they play—business owner, scientist, technologist, mother, sister—influence the many financial obligations they have for themselves and their families. But true wealth is about more than just a woman’s money. It’s about a woman’s life and the things she values most as well as the relationships, interests and goals that bring her joy. Putting all these elements at the heart of a woman’s long-term wealth management strategy helps ensure that she will achieve the financial future that she envisions. Please join us for an informative seminar designed to help you identify and prioritize your objectives, and then begin to build a personalized plan that helps maximize your probability of achieving the goals you have for yourself and your loved ones, however life unfolds.. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142

Apr 2

WEST's 12th Annual Awards Night: Celebrating Those who "Make a Difference" and a Special Panel Discussion on Gender Parity
April 2, 2020, 6:00 - 8:30 PM

WEST will be honoring those who have championed the advancement of women throughout Massachusetts at our 12th annual awards ceremony. We will also reflect on ways we can challenge ourselves to expand and build on these accomplishments. The panel will include leaders from the industry and academic sectors, who have advocated for gender parity in science and technology. They will be discussing the strategies they have explored and the advances already adopted by pharma and other industries to achieve greater gender parity and the advancement of more women into executive leadership roles. They will weave in legislative gains in MA, such as the Paid Family Leave Act and the 2019 MA Equal Pay Act. In addition, they will report on the latest gains in gender diversity in the science and technology industries, describing the impact it has had, and demonstrate how research can further support equal opportunities for women across their career journey. During the awards portion, we will honor those who exemplify the mission of WEST. The two key award categories this year will be Making a Difference in the Community (examples: running non-profit, helping in a soup kitchen, volunteering with animals) and Making a Difference for Women (examples: supporting women, mentoring, championing diversity). We will also honor WEST volunteers and supporters whose dedication and outreach efforts have helped us reach our strategic goals. 

Do you know someone who is making a difference in the community or for women? If so, please nominate them here by 2/6/2020. Nominations are open to the WEST community including members and the larger community of supporters, friends, and allies. Awardees will be announced mid-February.   

Location: Ipsen, 650 E Kendall Street, Atrium, Cambridge, MA 02142
Cost: $15 for members; $40 for non-members

Register  Add to Calendar 04/02/2020 06:00 PM 04/02/2020 8:30 PM America/New_York WEST's 12th Annual Awards Night On April 2, 2020, WEST will be honoring those who have championed the advancement of women throughout Massachusetts at our 12th annual awards ceremony. We will also reflect on ways we can challenge ourselves to expand and build on these accomplishments. Ipsen, 650 E Kendall Street, Atrium, Cambridge, MA 02142

aPR 9

Rockstar Breakfast and Networking
April 9, 2020, 8:00 - 9:00 AM 

Location: Womble Bond Dickinson, Independence Wharf at 470 Atlantic Ave, 6th Floor, Boston, MA
Cost: $5 for members

Register  Add to Calendar 04/09/2020 8:00 AM 04/09/2020 9:00 AM America/New_York Rockstar Breakfast and Networking Are you looking for an opportunity to network with local senior women leaders? If so, this is THE event for you. Enjoy a light breakfast accompanied by lots of conversation with Michal Preminger, Head, Johnson & Johnson Innovation Boston and Sandra Glucksmann, President and CEO, Cedilla Therapeutics. Registration is for WEST MEMBERS ONLY and will be limited to a maximum of 20 participants to ensure an intimate experience. Womble Bond Dickinson, Independence Wharf at 470 Atlantic Ave, 6th Floor, Boston, MA

May 19

Attentive Listening
May 19, 2020, 6:00 - 8:30 PM 

Location: PerkinElmer, 940 Winter Street, Waltham, MA 02451
Cost: $25 for members, $50 for non-members

Register  Add to Calendar 05/19/2020 6:00 PM 05/19/2020 8:30 PM America/New_York Attentive Listening Listening is the most highly correlated skill with emotional intelligence in leaders. It's also the primary skill needed for resolving conflict and having empathic discussions. And while great listening skills are easy to learn; according to the Center for Creative Leadership, most leaders get very low scores from their key stakeholders on their listening ability - but rate themselves much higher. In this workshop, we'll practice attentive listening as defined by Stephen Covey, and take a short self-assessment to determine what might be in the way of being a respectful and attentive listener. We'll also explore how listening leads to influence which is critical for anyone who needs to get things done without having positional power. PerkinElmer, 940 Winter Street, Waltham, MA 02451

To Learn more about any workshop leaders listed, please visit http://www.westorg.org/content-experts-and-workshop-leaders