178: Innovation, Allyship, and Empowering Women in STEM, Live from 3M Global Headquarters in St. Paul, MN

Innovation is 3M’s bread and butter. As a leading science-based technology company, we wanted to hear more about the stories from people who make all that innovation happen. 

This episode was recorded at 3M’s headquarters in St. Paul Minnesota, where we spoke with three brilliant women from 3M about innovation in STEM, how 3M encourages new ideas and projects and diversity in STEM. Joining this episode are Jayshree Seth, Corporate Scientist, Brittany Moren, Robotic Application Engineer, and Michelle Frumkin, Global Marketing Manager.

They explain how they first entered the world of STEM and what we can do to encourage more from diverse backgrounds to pick STEM as a career path. We also hear about 3M’s 15%-time policy which allows team members to dedicate 15% of their time to work on innovative new projects and experiments. 

In this episode, find out:

• We hear from Brittany what a project engineer at 3M does
• How Michelle, Brittany and Jayshree first got involved in STEM
• How 3M works in the robotics and automation spaces
• Jayshree explains how 3M builds uncommon connections between problems and solutions
• What innovation means and how 3M’s culture of empowerment helps to grow it
• Exciting projects that 3M’s 15%-time policy has helped empower employees to work on
• What we need to do to get more women and girls interested in STEM careers 
• Why lack of diversity is a systemic problem and requires real intentionality to solve it

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Tweetable Quotes:

• “If you're leadership, if you're one of the CEOs, if you're able to continue showcasing the women and everyone in your workforce and the hard work that they do, it really says, okay, I feel like I'm valued here and it makes sense for me to stay and continue.” Michelle
• “I strongly believe in bringing awareness much sooner into people's lives. So I've done a lot of outreach with middle school and high school. A lot of times when I have talked to high schoolers that are maybe like junior seniors, it actually a lot of times feels too late.” Brittany
• “I think role models are important. People want to see representation and that makes them want to aspire to those roles.”

Links & mentions:

• 3M, a science-based technology company that seeks to improve lives with innovative technology. 
• Not the Science Type, a short film showcasing four women who break down the boundaries in STEM.
• Skilled, a docuseries created to showcase diverse and meaningful trade careers.

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.