Member since November 2017
Kate Van Dellen started flying airplanes before she even learned how to drive a car.
As an aerospace engineer, Ms. Van Dellen has worked at a variety of aircraft companies solving problems by providing emergency response support. With problem solving as a core skill, Ms. Van Dellen took to speaking around the globe on topics she was passionate about solving. This includes speaking on gender equality and encouraging students to allow themselves to evolve their dreams. Kate also blogs for the Huffington Post and has been published in the VIDA magazine on the topic of workplace sexism.
In 2015, Ms. Van Dellen started her own company, New Trees Education, to encourage all students to succeed in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses. Kate helps students overcome preconceived notions and limiting self-talk one thought at time.
Ms. Van Dellen has been awarded the 2015 Society of Women Engineers Distinguished New Engineer award and an award from NASA.
Confronting Workplace Sexism
It's Happening Today
Dealing with workplace sexism is difficult. It's hard to call out your manager for always asking you to take notes or hearing your suggestion repeated and accepted just because it came from someone else. Positive and inclusive work environments lead to more productivity and success. This interactive session will share stories of actual recent workplace sexism and will give participants the tools to confidently confront it. This motivational speech also address the power male allies have in ending workplace sexism. The only way to change the workplace for the next generation of female employees is to do something now.
In one of my first jobs out of college, my primary tasks were ordering lunch and taking meeting notes. Meanwhile, men with the same experience as I had were designing aircraft parts and managing huge budgets. I knew I needed to make a change when my manager refused to reassign tasks in our team because he felt that men ordering lunch and taking notes was "ridiculous".
In one of my first jobs out of college, my primary tasks were ordering lunch and taking meeting notes. Meanwhile, men with the same experience as I had were designing aircraft parts and managing huge budgets. I knew I needed to make a change when my manager refused to reassign tasks in our team because he felt that men ordering lunch and taking notes was "ridiculous".
