[GWAMIT] GW@MIT Newsletter, June 29th, 2020

[GWAMIT]

GWAMIT Newsletter

June 29th, 2020



Did you know? Here is some women-related news from around the world:

West Point's 2020 graduating class has a record number of African American women as well as the first observant Sikh. Read more about these amazing women here<https://www.vogue.com/article/record-number-african-american-female-graduates-west-point?fbclid=IwAR2VDkEUiDoyCMnIpnXbottM_CRnh3wrtszQD1RRdSD9S_G6co7npfQc9W4>.

Ada Yonath, who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for mapping the bacterial ribosome, celebrated her birthday last week. You can read about her amazing accomplishments here<https://www.nobelprize.org/womenwhochangedscience/stories/ada-yonath>.

What's Really Behind the Gender Gap in Covid-19 Deaths? New York Times article here<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/opinion/sex-differences-covid.html>.

Dozens of Women in Gaming Speak Out About Sexism and Harassment. New York Times article here<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/style/women-gaming-streaming-harassment-sexism-twitch.html>. If you are interested in the gaming industry join the *gameHERs Career & Internship Database- information down below!

Women's unemployment has risen more than that of men's under COVID19- read about that and the 'Mu-u-um' pattern in the Economist article here<https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/06/04/downturns-tend-to-reduce-gender-inequality-not-under-covid-19>.



COVID-19 Resources

GWAMIT has compiled a list of resources we are aware of to help graduate women in our community. If you know of a resource that isn't listed, please let us know (gwamit-exec at mit.edu) so we can include it in the next newsletter to share with the community.

MIT Grant for Graduate Students with Children - Apply by July 1st!

https://oge.mit.edu/finances/grad-student-fin-assist/grad-students-with-children-grant/

Expanded back-up child care policy: https://hr.mit.edu/worklife/backupchildcare

MIT Ombuds Office - ombudsoffice.mit.edu<http://ombuds.mit.edu/>

The Ombuds Office is available to offer support and assistance to the MIT community in navigating these challenges and exploring constructive options for success. We are available for phone or Zoom meetings and can also facilitate online sessions and group discussions to help teams function and support good communication skills during this challenging period.  To schedule a meeting via phone or Zoom email kalina_s at mit.edu or call 617-253-5921. A tips sheet from Ombuds for having difficult conversations can be found at the end of this newsletter.

Graduate student short-term emergency hardship funding: https://engage.mit.edu/submitter/form/step/1?Guid=b180ffce-c28f-41f6-908b-387637df6396

GSC DEI open letter for COVID-relief: https://mitgradstudentadvocates.weebly.com/

MIT Summer Opportunities & Resources: https://resources.mit.edu/summer



Stay at Home Recommendations:

Something to do...  check your own implicit biases and define a plan to disrupt them. The first step is identifying and naming your own implicit biases, you can try one of the studies here at the Harvard Implicit Bias Project.<https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html> Psychology Science<https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/how-racial-bias-works-and-how-to-disrupt-it.html> has a good article on how to disrupt them.

Something to read (and watch!)...  Oge Egbuonu is offering up a love letter to Black women from Black women. Her directorial debut, (In)Visible Portraits, launching on Vimeo on Demand today, is a poignant and quietly beautiful documentary. Read an interview with her here. <https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a32908703/oge-egbuonu-invisible-portraits/>

Looking to borrow books without leaving the house? The Minuteman library network is doing temporary online membership which can be applied for here<https://library.minlib.net/selfreg>!

Something to watch... Padma Lakshmi's Taste the Nation<https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/padma-lakshmis-taste-the-nation-is-the-most-relevant-food-show-right-now> is now on Hulu. Travel with her as she attempts to define what "American" food.

Something to listen to... Harvard Business Review's 'Women at Work' podcast has a series on sisterhood. We recommend starting with Season 5, Episode 9: Sisterhood Is Critical to Racial Justice<https://hbr.org/podcast/2020/06/sisterhood-is-critical-to-racial-justice>

Something fun... take up bullet journaling to organize your thoughts, dreams, and goals. Check out this instagram on minimalist bullet journaling<https://www.instagram.com/minimaljournal/> or sit back and watch a video on bullet journaling<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5svMiARRbr4> for inspiration.



Virtual Events & Opportunities

Virtual Gathering: Let's talk The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel!

Monday, June 29 at 6:00 PM ET

The MIT Alumni Association is bringing together current MIT graduate students and MIT alumni together for a virtual dinner/gathering in the times of social distancing. This program is unique in the sense that it offers students the opportunity to network with alumni in a relaxed environment focused on building fellowship and friendships by the end of the evening. MIT alumni have volunteered to host a limited number of graduate students for a virtual gathering on Zoom.

Participants will receive a $25 Uber Eats gift card to have a meal on us during the event!

Register here: https://bit.ly/3ey6YqW. Space is limited, sign-up today



Menstrual Cup Sale (pleasure at MIT & MindHandHeart)

Tired of single-use period products? Stressed about having to run out to the store to get pads or tampons in the middle of a pandemic? Been wanting to try an eco-friendly period solution but intimidated by the cost?

Purchase a menstrual cup at wholesale cost and have it shipped to your home! Place your order here<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXhxOSK-4wU1HqwgoW-8_vzfHKtemfydi2GQLm3s1HFwvV7w/viewform?usp=sf_link>.

We currently have Nixit Discs<https://letsnixit.com/> , Diva Cups<https://divacup.com/> in size 1 and 2, and Saalt Cups<https://www.saaltco.com/> in size small and medium.  Subsidies are available for those facing financial hardship. Contact pleasure-cups at mit.edu with any questions or concerns. Want this initiative to continue or have suggestions? Fill out our feedback form<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1SZXK7C2-S_--yh4zvnX-WyjcrPDYHBQHa4r63ZBUu48/viewform?edit_requested=true>!

 Order closes on July 2nd, but order fast! We have a limited supply.



Join the *gameHERs Career & Internship Database

The*gameHERS is an inclusive community that connects women and nonbinary individuals who play video games. I'm reaching out to see if you and/or the women in your club would like to be added to our database for possible career opportunities and/or internships.

*        The primarily male-run gaming industry tends to hire men, even though women make up nearly half of all gamers. Therefore, women and gender minorities are underrepresented in games, and may feel left out of gaming communities.

*        Many game companies want to hire more women so that they can appeal to a broader, more inclusive audience. So, the*gameHERS is working with large, mid and small gaming companies to create a professional networking database of talented women and gender minorities in STEM who would be interested in entering the gaming industry.

*        Game companies will look to this database to hire more diverse employees.

If you are interested in being listed in our networking database for future job opportunities and/or internships, please enter your email here<https://thegamehers.com/collegestudents> . Keep in mind that you don't have to play video games to get a job in the industry!



Virtual International Film Series

Join MIT Global Languages for the launch of our Virtual International Film Series! (see our site<http://mitgsl.mit.edu/virtual-international-film-series> for the full series list)



Indigenous Communities Fellowship

The MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellowship<https://solve.mit.edu/challenges/2020-indigenous-communities-fellowship> is entering its third year and they are seeking Indigenous-led solutions that drive social, environmental, and economic impact in Native communities across the US. Solutions can be at any stage of development, and use any business model - non-profit, for-profit, and anywhere in between.

The deadline to submit is July 7, 2020 and the Fellowship offers US$10,000 in funding support to each selected Fellow. The Fellowship provides a 9 month program of support that includes a comprehensive resource needs assessment, technical/business mentorship, and tailored connections to a global network of companies, foundations, NGOs, and more. If you guys know anyone in your communities who might be interested, please share! AISES has gotten to meet with the Fellows the last two times around and it was always so cool chatting with Native entrepreneurs and inventors from all over.



Postdoc/Graduate Student Opportunities at UCLA

Course 6 PhD (2014) graduate and Assistant Professor at UCLA, Dr. Clarice D. Aiello, is looking for postdocs and graduate students to join her lab. Please see the message and description below. Contact information can be found in the attached description.

"We are searching for postdoctoral candidates with AMO physics experience

as well as graduate students from a broad set of backgrounds (ex.: Phys,

EE, Chem, BioE). Our group, QuBiT, seeks to establish the extent to which quantum

mechanics accounts for biologically relevant phenomena, and can be

manipulated to technological and therapeutic advantage. I'm glad to talk to anyone who might be interested."
[QuBiT_postdoc_ad]

Charitable Giving

Are you donating to black-led organizations? Read this awesome post <https://sisterstem.org/2020/06/23/black-women-in-stem-are-doing-the-work/> by Netia McCray, founder of Mbadika (prepare yourself for some amazing Rihanna gifs!)

Netia McCray is an MIT alum<https://www.businessinsider.com/mbadika-founder-netia-mccray-black-panther-youtube-2018-3>! Her local, Boston-based nonprofit organization Mbadika<https://mbadika.org/>, which helps kids become "makers" and realize their creative dreams with the equipment and technology support to make it happen.

Mbadika isn't currently accepting donations on their website, but Netia recommends several peer organizations that work to support URM representation in STEM. Consider donating to: INTech Camp<https://intechcamp.org/about/> , Vanguard STEM<https://conversations.vanguardstem.com/> , The Glover Center<https://www.degetc.org/> , and The Fab Lab<https://www.thefablab.com/>.



"You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own."

-Michelle Obama

[Tips for Difficult Conversations - COVID 19 - FINAL PDF]

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