[Republished] Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Technology: Reflections on the 2018 NGO CSW62 Forum
- May 28, 2019
- 4 min read
This article was republished from the May 2018 Newsletter of the Industry Talent Development Information Network, Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Authors Hsiao-Mei Lin and Li-Ling Tsai are members of TWiST.
Original article: http://www.italent.org.tw/ePaperD/9/ePaper20180500009
What She Thinks, She Become
Lydia Hsiao-Mei Lin—one of Taiwan’s delegates, a recipient of the Ten Outstanding Young Women Award, and founder and general manager of HEX Safety Inc.—organized a parallel event titled “What She Thinks, She Becomes.” In addition to sharing her own experience as a technology inventor, Lin invited three accomplished women working in STEM-related fields to join a panel discussion: Lieutenant Anna Schermerhorn-Collins, a senior firefighter with the New York City Fire Department; Dr. Mei-Hui Chen, a software engineer based at a university in Singapore; and Gail G. Mattson, President of the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (INWES). Their fields included environmental engineering, firefighting, and software development. By sharing their professional experiences, they encouraged more women to pursue STEM careers, challenge traditional expectations, and shape their futures through unconventional thinking.
How to Maintain Professional Confidence and Encourage Other Women
Lydia Hsiao-Mei Lin is a technology entrepreneur. After winning the Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship in 2011, she co-founded HEX Safety Inc. with her teammates and became known for developing a dynamic evacuation guidance system. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from National Tsing Hua University, where she focused on operating systems and embedded-system development. After establishing her company, she continued her studies in the doctoral program in architecture at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.
Determined to reduce the deaths and family tragedies caused by fires, Lin researched building evacuation safety and developed the Intelligent Active Dynamic Signage System (Intelligent ADSS). The system applies Internet of Things technologies to automate and improve fire safety in public buildings. It received an iF Design Award in 2016, and Lin received the Ten Outstanding Young Women Award in 2017. During the parallel event, she shared Taiwan’s experience in empowering women in information and communications technology and promoted the principles behind UNESCO’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11. She hopes to challenge gender inequality and encourage more women to enter scientific fields.
Lieutenant Anna Schermerhorn-Collins has served with the New York City Fire Department since 1996. She worked as a firefighter for nine years before being promoted to lieutenant in 2005. Her responsibilities include responding to fires and emergencies while supervising and guiding firefighters. She earned a master’s degree in security studies in 2017 and has participated in welfare initiatives related to catastrophic incidents through the FDNY’s Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness.
Anna believes gender equality in firefighting means creating a balanced workforce. Firefighters encounter many different situations, and their responsibility extends beyond responding to building fires and rescuing people in danger. They must also understand the needs of civilians—particularly women and children—and provide emotional and psychological support to those most vulnerable. She emphasized that although modern technology can protect lives, education and public-awareness campaigns remain essential. Children and adults worldwide must understand the importance of fire safety and evacuation. By applying this knowledge, everyone can begin making a difference in the global community.
Dr. Mei-Hui Chen has more than ten years of experience in software development. She is an award-winning research engineer specializing in machine learning, data analysis, and pattern recognition, particularly for healthcare applications. Her honors include a Women Techmakers Scholarship. She also participates in international conferences worldwide to promote technology among women and children.
Chen first became aware of the severe gender imbalance in technology while studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing. During an electrical engineering lecture attended by 200 students, she discovered that only five—including herself—were women. She subsequently began participating in technology conferences, advocating for ways to help girls discover their passion for technology and challenge gender stereotypes and discrimination in engineering. Through nonprofit organizations, she has also taught girls how to design and develop websites, helping them experience the joy and fulfillment of creating with technology.
Gail G. Mattson is a senior professional engineer with approximately 40 years of experience. Both of her parents were scientists and engineers who strongly encouraged her to pursue what they considered an accomplished and rewarding profession. She has more than 35 years of experience in environmental engineering, safety, radiation control, project management, business development, and corporate relations. At the time of the forum, she was conducting international work for Brookhaven National Laboratory, a research institution operated for the U.S. Department of Energy.
At Brookhaven, Mattson helped install a safety device in a kitchen where fires frequently occurred because of aging facilities. Scientists cooking in the kitchen would occasionally become distracted by sudden research ideas and forget that the stove was still on. Her engineering team therefore installed a device that automatically switched off the stove after it had been left unattended for several minutes.
Mattson has participated in the Society of Women Engineers for 25 years and served as President of INWES. She believes role models play an essential part in encouraging women to become engineers. She has also developed leadership and career-development programs to promote a more gender-diverse image of the engineering profession.
United Nations Gender Equality Apps
Governments, businesses, and civil-society organizations are working with the United Nations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. These goals include advancing women’s status, promoting gender equality in technology, and empowering women.
Several mobile applications introduced during the forum allow users to follow these issues, including Women’s Human Rights (W’s HR), CSW-62, and NGO CSW/NY. They are available for iPhone and Android devices through the Apple App Store and Google Play. Through the W’s HR app, users worldwide can access legal information, documents, and recent news concerning international women’s rights and human rights.
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