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Special Workshop: Diversity in action: creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, a place for all to belong

Details are subject to change.

  • Organisers

    Selina Farwell, Lumentum, UK
    Fatima Gunning, 
    Tyndall National Institute, Ireland
    Lauren Mecum-Smith, IEEE Photonics Society, USA
    Marcia Lesky, Optica, USA
    Allison Romanyshyn, SPIE, USA

  • Day & Time

    20.09.2022, 10:45 – 12:30

  • Location

    Room Shanghai

  • Description

    Diversity of thought drives new ideas and innovation. The workshop kicks off with a presentation reminding us of published data linking a diverse workforce and innovation value.

    Organizations which embrace diversity and inclusion have a strategic advantage because it delivers a broad range of business benefits. These include improved business performance and financial success, with employees that are highly engaged, more happy, healthy, and productive, improved retention of staff and generation of more and better ideas. If we want to have the strategic advantage of diversity, what inclusive behaviors should we adopt?

    Are role models important, should we have mentors? What should interview panels look like and how to ensure that diverse people are heard? How can we have equal and fair networking opportunities and team building? What’s the role of leadership teams?

    Let’s hear from organizations who are on a journey to realize the broad business benefits that the research predicts. Three leaders will openly share the problems they faced in their business and what compelled them to act. We will learn what initiatives truly created a diverse and inclusive workplace- and what completely missed the mark. The objective is to take away the top three lessons each organization has learnt.

    In this workshop we will discuss best practice instituted policies and programs which made a difference to inclusion, employee engagement, a sense of workplace belonging and career success. The workshop includes a motivational talk followed by position talks from industry and academia followed by a panel discussion.

    This workshop is designed for supervisors, managers, team leaders and anyone who is interested in promoting diversity.

    Refreshments will be provided. Registration is required.

  • Programme

    10:45 Introduction
    Selina Farwell, Lumentum, UK
     Fatima Gunning, 
    Tyndall National Institute, Ireland

    10:50 Panel Introductions
     Grace Lee, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Lumentum Holdings Inc, USA

    10:55 The Business Imperative of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    Ashley Dartnell, Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director, Boston Consulting Group, London, UK

    11:10 The value of diversity at ICFO
    Robert Sewell, Head of Academic Affairs, ICFO, Spain & SPIE@ICFO Chair for Diversity in the Photonic Sciences

    11:25 LITE’s Journey to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
     Janet S. Wong, CPA, NACD.DC, Independent Board Director Lumentum Holdings, Inc, USA

    11:40Building Sustainable D&I in Technical Communities
    Dalma Novak, Vice President of Engineering, Octane Wireless, USA

    11:55 Panel discussion
     chaired by Grace Lee, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Lumentum Holdings Inc, USA

  • Speakers
    AshleyDartnell Speaker 1: Ashley Dartnell, Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director, Boston Consulting Group, London, UK 
    Biography: Ashley is responsible for driving the strategy and execution of BCG’s Global DE&I agenda. Across gender, LGBTQ+, (dis)ability, and ethnic/cultural/socioeconomic groups she works with BCG leadership to define the firm’s aspirations, track and report on progress, increase leadership accountability and design and support programs to foster an equitable and inclusive environment for all BCG employees. She leads a team that has developed groundbreaking DE&I thought leadership, including an external DE&I survey of over 25,000 employees in 16 countries. She regularly participates in client discussions as a DE&I expert and has coauthored a number of articles about LGBTQ+ employees, inclusion, women in tech, and caregivers.
    RobSewell Speaker 2: Robert Sewell, Head of Academic Affairs, ICFO, Spain & SPIE@ICFO Chair for Diversity in the Photonic Sciences
    Biography: Prof. Sewell is Head of Academic Affairs at ICFO, responsible for oversight of the ICFO PhD program and training of students and researchers, including programs such as the Summer Fellows program, Maria Yzuel Fellowship Awards, and the Frontiers of Light summer schools. He completed a dual arts/science undergraduate degree at the University of Melbourne, and received his PhD in Physics from Imperial College London in 2009. He joined ICFO in 2009 as a Marie Curie Research Postdoctoral Fellow, and became Staff Scientist and Coordinator of Academic Programs in 2015. In 2020 he was appointed SPIE@ICFO Chair for Diversity in Photonic Sciences. He is Co-Director of the Master of Multidisciplinary Research in Experimental Sciences offered by the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, and sits on the coordinating committee of the inter-university Master of Quantum Science and Technology.
    JanetWong Speaker 3: Janet S. Wong, CPA, NACD.DC, Independent Board Director Lumentum Holdings, Inc, USA
    Biography: Janet S. Wong is an experienced business executive. Currently, she serves as an independent corporate board director for Lumentum (Nasdaq: LITE), a leading technology company; Lucid Group (Nasdaq: LCID), an electric vehicle manufacturer and Enviva Inc (NYSE: EVA), a global energy company. She served as a senior partner with KPMG, a global professional services organization, where she spent the majority of her career based in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices providing her industry experience in technology, manufacturing, services and consumer products. She is an established thought leader and speaker on issues facing global companies today including diversity, Environmental Social & Governance (ESG), and leadership development. Janet is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and a National Association of Corporate Directors Certified® Director. She earned her Master of Professional Accountancy from Louisiana Tech University and Master of Taxation from Golden Gate University.
    profile women Speaker 4: Dalma Novak, Vice President of Engineering, Octane Wireless, USA
    Biography: Dalma Novak is VP of Engineering at Octane Wireless. Previously she was a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at The University of Melbourne and also led cross-disciplinary R&D teams developing WDM hardware for long-haul transmission systems at Dorsál Networks and Corvis Corporation. Dr. Novak received the degrees of Bachelor of Engineering and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Queensland. She is a Fellow of the IEEE and recognized internationally in the areas of microwave and millimeter-wave photonics. In 2018 she received the IEEE Photonics Society Engineering Achievement Award. Dr. Novak is the current Chair of the IEEE TAB Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and Vice-Chair of the IEEE Committee on Diversity and Inclusion.
    GraceLee Panel Chair: Grace Lee, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Lumentum Holdings Inc, USA
    Biography: Grace Lee is senior vice president, chief human resources officer at Lumentum (LITE). In this role, she is responsible for all disciplines of global human resources. She is a Board member at Asure Software (ASUR) where she is chair of the nominating and governance committee. Prior to joining Lumentum, Ms. Lee was Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer at Cubic. She has been named as Top 50 Chief Diversity Officers in the U.S., and Top 100 Chief Human Resources Officers in the U.S. Ms. Lee holds a master’s degree in Human Resources from Cornell University, Industrial and Labor Relations School; a master’s degree in Global Leadership from the University of San Diego, School of Business; and a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of the Philippines.

     

  • Sponsored by

    Optica
    IEEE Photonics Society
    SPIE
    Swissphotonics