Play video
STORY
Inaugural Fem.AI Summit Convenes Industry, Academia, Nonprofits and Gender Equity Leaders During National Women In AI Month
Cadence Launches Fem.AI, Pledges $20M to Kickstart Gender Equity in the AI Workforce
Vision:
FEM.AI panel discussions, featuring industry, academia, nonprofits and gender equity leaders. keynote speakers, graphics opening animation for FEM. AI Summit, attendees in attendance, sign-in, exteriors, signage for sessions, exhibitors.
Speakers Include:
--Dr. Chelsea Clinton, Vice-Chair, Clinton Global Initiative
--Nicole Johnson President, Cadence Giving Foundation
--Reshma Saujani, CEO of Girls Who Code
--Cadence CEO Dr. Anirudh Devgan
--Cadence SVP of Global HR and Social Impact, Tina Jones
--Dr. Joy Buolamwini, Founder, Algorithmic Justice League
--Mary Louise Krakauer Chair of the Board, Cadence
--Chelsea Finn,Assistant Professor in computer Science and Electrical Engineering
,Stanford University ,Co-founder of Pi
--Sarah Kopfer,Computer Engineer @Notre Dame, Incoming Lunar Engineer @Blue Origin
--Tsu-Jae Liu,Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the university of California, Berkley
--Maria Colacurcio,CEO at Syndio
--Miriam Vogel,President & CEO, EquslAI
--Paula Goldman, Chief Ethical and Humane Use Officer at Salesforce
--Aicha Evans, CEO at Zoox
STORY:
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDNS) held the first FEM.AI summit in Menlo Park, California with an initiative to propel women and the industry towards a more equitable tech sector, with an emphasis on opportunities in AI.
The Cadence Giving Foundation has committed $20 million towards this initiative, including philanthropic and product donations over the next decade to organizations that align with Fem.AI’s mission.
By catalyzing the industry to invest in nonprofits, university students and programs, champion women-led ventures, drive product innovation and leverage industry influence, Fem.AI aims to close the gender gap in this critical space.
Despite years of effort, the tech industry is lagging on critical measures of gender balance.
Initial research by Cadence has identified three “leakage points” in the tech/AI ecosystem where women are losing traction:
--Completing Higher Education: In 2021, approximately 20% of computer science graduates were female , while 45% of women who start college as STEM majors leave to pursue another degree .
--Accessing First Jobs: Women with STEM-related degrees face more unemployment challenges post-graduation , with women holding just over 20% of AI roles in US tech companies.
--Retaining STEM Careers: Over 56% of women in tech are likely to leave the industry before mid-career , further exacerbating the gender gap.
“Achieving true innovation in the current AI revolution requires the full participation of talented individuals, and too many women are slipping through the cracks of the AI pipeline,” said Dr. Anirudh Devgan, president and CEO of Cadence. “Cadence is committed to shrinking the gender gap in AI through Fem.AI, and we hope to be a catalyst within the tech industry by calling for gender equity in the AI workforce and beyond.”
In 2023, Cadence launched a pilot program to assess how to make the biggest impact on this issue, distributing grants to address leakage points. The company partnered with nonprofits, including Break Through Tech, Fast Forward, Generation, Global Semiconductor Alliance’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI), Last Mile Education Fund, Reboot Representation and VC Include. So far this year, these grants have already impacted over 14,000 women.
Future philanthropic donations will be directed to organizations that address leakage points while expanding on existing partnerships and building additional strategic alliances with changemakers to enable a sea change in representation across the tech industry.
Inaugural Fem.AI Summit
At the heart of Fem.AI lies the unification of the industry to shape the course of gender equity endeavors in AI. On October 1, Cadence hosted the inaugural Fem.AI Summit to unite business, academia, media and social impact leaders to promote cross-sector collaboration. More details on the summit are forthcoming,
with an exciting lineup of speakers and participants expected at the event in Menlo Park.
“The rapid expansion of AI brings immense opportunities for the workforce. However, if women continue to be left out, the effects will hinder innovation and exacerbate current labor shortages in the high-tech sector. Fem.AI is part of Cadence’s ongoing commitment to propelling women in STEM
and other inclusion initiatives at the core of the company,” said Tina Jones, senior vice president, Global Human Resources at Cadence. “We believe that innovation thrives when diverse perspectives come together, and through Fem.AI, we hope to move the needle toward gender balance in this space.”
To learn more about Fem.AI, visit https://www.cadence.com/en_US/home/company/foundation/femai.html
About Cadence
Cadence is a pivotal leader in electronic systems design, building upon more than 30 years of computational software expertise. The company applies its underlying Intelligent System Design strategy to deliver software, hardware and IP that turn design concepts into reality. Cadence customers are the world’s most innovative companies, delivering extraordinary products from chips to boards to complete systems for the most dynamic market applications, including hyperscale computing, 5G communications, automotive, mobile, aerospace, consumer, industrial and healthcare. For 10 years in a row, Fortune magazine has named Cadence one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Learn more at www.cadence.com .
B-roll and other materials including images will also be made available on Red Robots MediaGRAB: https://mediagrab.press/presskit/Fem.AI
ENDS
Broadcasters Contact: malcolm@redrobot.org
THIS IS A VIDEO NEWS RELEASE - RED ROBOT LTD ACCEPT NO EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ENTIRE CONTENT OR INFORMATION RELATING TO THIS VIDEO NEWS B-ROLL, INCLUDING ALL CLAIMS, NAMES, DATES, SCRIPTS, ADVISORIES AND COPYRIGHTS.
THE END USER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IN CONTINUING TO VIEW THIS CONTENT THE END USER ACCEPTS THAT RED ROBOT LTD EXPR
00:00- intro slates
00:00:14:13 – 00:00:43:04
Panel Discussions
Nicole Johnson, President, Cadence Giving Foundation from panel
So you've had. I got a chance to learn a little bit more about what your varied career has looked like. You were a consultant at McKinsey to start, which was interesting. You have been a university professor, a children's book author, so such a breadth of a career. Um, I'm curious if you can talk a little bit about the role that sponsorship and allyship has played for you? And, um, if you continue to play a role in being an ally and sponsor to others.
00:00:43:08 –00:01:22:19
Dr. Chelsea Clinton, Vice-Chair, Clinton Global Initiative
I was thinking about what, um, kind of brought me to, you know, part of my career that I never had envisioned as a little girl or even in my 20s when I was, you know, working at McKinsey or working from a hedge fund or working on my PhD and then later teaching at Columbia, which is as a children's book author. This should have been elucidated kind of through my own experience, having read many children's books to my then younger nieces and nephews. But it it didn't. It didn't happen until I became a parent to a daughter. My daughter Charlotte just turned ten last week. Um, when I realized how many of the books we were reading were gendered male.
00:01:22:21 – 00:01:56:11
Cadence CEO Dr. Anirudh Devgan
Then we also allocated $20 million to this particular is the most because we are focused on three main initiatives in the Cadence Giving Foundation. And this is an important one. I mean, the other one is climate and our foundation, a partnership with the with Chelsea and the Clinton Foundation. And then the third one is education in general. We're working with all the universities and, and and K-12. Then what is also super exciting in this initiative is we have a alliance, right. Because you can't do this there's no way you can do this today, we can do this together. We do it by ourselves.
00:01:56:13 – 00:02:07:13
Cadence SVP of Global HR and Social Impact, Tina Jones
Fortune magazine dubbed Doctor Joy the conscience of the AI revolution. But when I read your book, which I did just in time and.
00:02:07:22 – 00:02:11:08
Dr Joy Buolamwini, Founder, Algorithmic Justice League
There is the audiobook, put it on two times. You're good.
00:02:11:10 - 00:02:12:13
Cadence SVP of Global HR and Social Impact, Tina Jones
I tried that I.
00:02:12:15 – 00:02:37:01
Mary Louise Krakauer, Chair of the Board Cadence
I could not be more excited at the first ever Fem.AI conference. You're part of making history here, and it's also on the first ever International Women in AI day. Today we've brought together experts in AI, policy, innovation, social impact, and academia.
We aim to challenge you and to inspire you to join our movement to effect real change.
00:02:36:22--00:3:32:15
FEM.AI ANIMATION AND SHOW OPEN
00:03:33:03—00:04:39:07
General B-roll
Interview
Chelsea Finn
Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering,Stanford University, Co-founder of Pi
00:04:42:29 – 00:04:56:00
If we have broad representation of people at the forefront of developing and advancing AI technology, then we will be able to ensure that this AI technology will be beneficial for all of society, not just part of it.
Interview
Reshma Saujani,CEO of Girls Who Code
00:04:58:27 - 00:05:17:24
First of all, I love this conference. I think it's so incredible to have women part of the conversation about AI. And the thing I believe in is aspirational AI, how can AI do good and what we're building at paid leave dot AI to make sure that you can use Gen AI to help increase the uptake of paid leave benefits, is the way we can show how AI can actually make a difference.
Interview
Sarah Kopfer,Computer Engineer @Notre Dame,Incoming Lunar Engineer @Blue Origin
00:05:20:04 - 00:05:49:29
For me, as someone who works mainly in engineering, it's been such a breadth of of different careers and people coming in to talk about their experiences. Um, and so whether it's talking about what it's like to be a mom and engineering or to be a CEO or to be in venture, there are a lot of perspectives coming in that I would have never really known about if I hadn't been able to hear from them and hear what they think about where AI is going with respect to women.
Interview
Tsu-Jae Liu,Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkley
00:05:52:24 - 00:06:10:09
It is inspiring to see how FEM. AI is bringing together the next generation of AI innovators with leaders in technology to discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead, and to foster collaboration to ensure that AI will be a force for good, benefiting people inclusively and equitably around the world.
Interview
Maria Colacurcio, CEO at Syndio
00:06:12:27 - 00:06:34:09
FEM AI has been a great conference and what I really appreciate about it is that we're talking about things all the way from the beginning of the pipeline for women getting into GEN AI, so all the way back to skills that they can get in schooling and academics. But really looking at the whole landscape in terms of venture, how do they get funded? How did they become entrepreneurs and leaders and really make a difference in how women are represented?
Interview
Nicole Johnson President, Cadence Giving Foundation
00:06:37:16 - 00:07:09:27
This event has brought together stakeholders from across so many different spectrums business, politics, non-profit, academia, venture capitalists, Innovators, even a poet of code. So we've had an incredible breadth of amazing people here talking about AI, talking about women in the workforce, and talking about what we can continue to do to ensure that this next iteration of technology looks fair and equal.
Interview
Miriam Vogel, President & CEO, EqualAI
00:07:12:17 - 00:07:35:17
Considering that we're 50% of the population it's absolutely critical that women's voices are heard and women are seen by our AI. This was a really special event, because it's doing the important work of making sure that women who are going to be, what, 85% of the consumers are wanting to purchase, that they feel trust in AI and that the AI is deserving of their trust.
Interview
Paula Goldman, Chief Ethical and Humane Use Officer at Salesforce
00:07:38:04 - 00:07:54:20
It's an ethical imperative. It's a business imperative to right. AI is only as good as the data that it's trained on, as its ability to be used by all types of people. And when business leaders don't pay attention to that, they're limiting their market, which is a silly thing to do.
Interview
Dr.Joy Buolamwini, Founder of the Algorithmic Justice League
00:07:57:00 - 00:08:22:17
FEM.AI to me, is really thinking about a perspective where women's voices aren't left out. We've had too much progress to be going back, and we already see what it looks like when women aren't at the table. When it comes to the decision making processes of what we prioritize in the development of AI, and also how we think about the rest. So for me, FEM AI is really saying we need all of our brilliant minds in the future of AI.
Interview
Aicha Evans,CEO at Zoox
00:08:25:13 - 00:08:44:10
Really had a wonderful time at the FEM AI event and exactly what we need to be doing i.e. getting women and other people together and really collecting our thoughts and organizing ourselves around AI because it's going to touch every aspect of society, and it cannot happen in a good way without all of us getting involved.
4 October 2024
