Invitation to the WISE Slovenia Round Table: Why are women disappearing from STEM professions?

The VTIS Association (Local Board of Slovenia and Interest Group of Slovenian Women Around the World) together with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and the organizations ONA VE and ASEF invite you to a round table entitled WISE Slovenia: Why are women disappearing from STEM professions? The event will take place on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at 5 PM at Ljubljana City Hall.

More and more women are enrolling in and completing their STEM studies, but their share in STEM professions in the labor market is disproportionately small. So why don’t women stay in STEM professions? What kind of obstacles do we think they face, which of these obstacles do women actually face and how can they overcome them? We’ll try to answer these questions at the roundtable, while also addressing the lack of women role models, the appearance of successful women in public spaces and media reportage, the stereotyping of women in the workplace, and what the state, society, and women themselves can do to support women building careers in STEM fields.

We have invited 4 prominent experts at different stages in their careers, so we believe the event will be very interesting both for those already working in the STEM field and those who are just getting started.

We will be joined by the following experts:

• Dr Majda Pavlin: researcher at the Institute of Civil Engineering and member of the Commission for Equal Opportunities in Science at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation.
• Assoc. Prof. Dr Marina Klemenčič: project manager at Novartis, lecturer in the field of biochemistry at the University of Ljubljana, mentor at ASEF and active member of the VTIS Association with many years of experience working abroad.
• Prof. Dr Saša Novak: scientific adviser at the Department of Nanostructured Materials at the Jožef Stefan Institute, consultant for science communication, tenured professor and member of ONA VE.
• Simona Kek: data scientist at Outbrain, finalist for Engineer of the Year 2023 and co-founder of the Ada Club, a community of women in STEM fields.

The event will be coordinated by Dr Ada Guštin Habuš, researcher at the Silicon Gardens fund, guest lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and applied psychology coach.

The event will start at 5 PM with introductory speeches, followed by a round table in 2 sections. Each section will last approximately 45 minutes and will also take time to address the audience’s questions.

Attendance requires prior registration at the link below.

The WISE 2024 cycle of events stems from the objective to effectively implement good practices in the field of gender equality in STEM. The goal is to connect through organizing round tables and expert meetings aimed at solving gender inequality in STEM.

WISE 2024 comprises three events, with which we will shed light on the challenges and solutions in realizing gender equality in STEM and in leadership positions. The events will be organized in the USA, Slovenia and Great Britain.

For additional information about the event, please contact: info@drustvovtis.si.

Organizers: VTIS Association (Local Committee Slovenia, head: Petra Jan; and interest group Slovenian Women Around the World, head: Kaja Skerlj), Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, ONA VE and ASEF.

*This event was made possible by the Government Office for Slovenians Abroad and the partners of the VTIS Association.