VIEW FULL AGENDA

Agenda for Webcast Coverage

Live Webcast in International Ballroom,
9:00 am - 9:15am Welcome
9:15am - 9:30am Video Addresses from European Leaders
9:30am - 10:00am Keynote Address
Recorded Video in International Ballroom,
10:00am - 11:30am Plenary Panel
Recorded Video in Crystal Ballroom,
12:00pm - 1:30pm Plenary Panel
Recorded Video in International Ballroom,
1:30pm - 2:45pm Keynote Address and Lunch
Recorded Video in Crystal Ballroom,
2:45pm - 4:45pm Plenary Panel
During times the ESI Team is not webcasting or recording we will move the webcasting setup to
the International Terrace West.
Live Webcast in the International Terrace West,
5:00pm - 5:30pm Evening Keynote Address

Day 2, Thursday November 14, 2013
Recorded Video in International Ballroom,
8:00am - 8:30am Keynote Address
Recorded Video in International Ballroom,
8:30am - 9:45am Plenary Session
Recorded Video in International Ballroom,
11:15am - 12:30pm Keynote Address and Lunch
Recorded Video in Crystal Ballroom,
3:00pm - 5:00pm Plenary Session

Day 3, Friday November 15, 2013
Recorded Video in International Ballroom,
1:30pm Closing Comments

The aim of the 3rd Gender Summit, which is focused on North America, is to interconnect all relevant stakeholders in a Call to Action to achieve positive change towards greater diversity in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce and leadership, and greater inclusion of biological sex and gender considerations or the "gender dimension" in research content and process. The event will be held on the 13 - 15 November 2013 at the Washington Hilton in Washington DC.

Background

• Develop a collective commitment and capacity to strengthen human capital development, research and innovation through diversity, by creating an innovative STEM conceptual framework of transformative opportunities that is responsive to the needs of both women and men
• Demonstrate quality evidence of how incorporating the gender dimension into STEM research and innovation contribute to excellence and maximize capacity to address societal challenges
• Expand and transform the Gender Summit into a global level forum for collaborative dialogue and activities focused on shaping science and society through the inclusion of gender dimension in research, innovation, and markets for science knowledge
• Share solutions on how to incorporate the gender dimension in research methods, institutional structures, funding structures and peer review processes
• Maximize national and international capacity to address common and diverse societal challenges by fostering an inclusive community of experts -- cross-disciplinary, government, industry, academic, and citizen partnerships

OverviewThe presence of women in science and engineering as experimenters, research subjects, and leaders does matter. However, too often the science and engineering knowledge base has had much more evidence for men than for women. This historical trend of not considering the gender dimension has been propagating research that produces different outcomes for women and men, as well as a variety of gender bias in science knowledge base. The exclusion of women in past toxicology research, for example, has created flaws in our understanding of the adverse health effects due to exposure to toxic metals, especially arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead, which constitute serious public health problems worldwide and affect women and men in significantly different ways. While historically, gender bias in research mostly disadvantaged women, and sometimes also affected men (e.g. diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer), new research increasingly reports cases where important biological and psychosocial differences have been shown to influence outcomes for both women and men. The research evidence demonstrates also that paying attention to the gender dimension in study design can lead to important discoveries. It has been shown, for example, that the metabolic profiles of women and men are significantly different at molecular level. A new hypothesis is needed to explain sexual dimorphism occurring at the level of biochemical mechanisms that maintain cell's homeostasis, which cannot be explained by the hormonal hypothesis. Understanding this will have important consequences for diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, such as the use of biomarkers in diseases, for example, diabetes and Alzheimer's, and in aging. The Gender Summit will bring together a diverse group of national and international experts and stakeholders from various types of institutions to discuss the new perspectives emerging from studies of sex and gender differences and how they create opportunities to be specific about what it means for science to be "gender neutral," that is, to show that the study design has taken into account the needs of both women and men as equally important. The benefits are considerable, not only for the quality and outcomes of research, but also for new opportunities to apply research findings to create new markets for science knowledge.The Summit will address the following questions:

• What is the compelling research evidence that demands immediate response?
• What are the most appropriate, beneficial and impactful actions that different stakeholders can take?
• What mechanisms are needed to strengthen inter-stakeholder collaboration?
• What strategy is best to achieve global impact?

About NSF
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2009, its budget is $9.5 billion, which includes $3.0 billion provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 44,400 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards.MORE