You are invited to join the IEEE ITSS Women & Other Underrepresented Groups in ITS (Wi-ITS) Ad Hoc Committee for its upcoming webinar on ‘Advancing Women in Tech in an Underdeveloped Country: Challenges and Opportunities‘ on Monday, May 8, at 10:00 AM EDT.

About the Webinar

Worldwide, there is a growth in the participation of women in other professional careers, but in those related to science, engineering, and technology, the situation is different. The factors that influence this disparity are related to social situations that have three aspects: access to quality scientific education, biases or prejudices that force women to professionalize in other careers, and the lack of commitment of some institutions to allow women to sciences have a diverse look. This webinar highlights concrete actions that are promoting equity in underdeveloped countries, taking Panama as a case study where the government and companies are addressing the daily challenges they face and how they are still working on more strategies and actions to make equity in these disciplines a reality.

About the Speaker

Dr. Yessica L. Sáez Barrios
Technological University of Panama

Yessica L. Sáez Barrios is an electronics and telecommunications engineer, who graduated from the Technological University of Panama and is a specialist in higher education from the University of the Isthmus of Panama. She holds an MEng and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA. She currently works as a research professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Technological University of Panama, where she serves as the Research Coordinator of the Azuero Region Branch. She is the coordinator of the Research Group on Telecommunications Engineering and Intelligent Systems Applied to Society (ITSIAS), where she collaborates in several research projects financed by different institutions. She has several publications in national and international high-impact scientific journals, has participated in and presented scientific articles in various national and international congresses, and also holds invention patents. She is a member of the National Research System (SNI) of Panama, director of outreach of the Panamanian Association for the Advancement of Science (APANAC), and an active member of the Movement Science in Panama. Dr. Sáez is the Chair of the Communications Society (COMSOC) of the IEEE – Panama Section and is a member of the board of directors of the Communications Society (COMSOC) of IEEE Latin America.