WRITTEN BY: Glauce Silva
On Friday, March 29th, the Bioneers Conference in Berkeley, CA, showcased “Women in Clean/Green Tech: Shattering the Glass Ceiling.” This event highlighted the vital role women play in advancing sustainable technologies and overcoming gender barriers in a traditionally male-populated field. Various topics were discussed, including career milestones, executive presence, dealing with self-doubt, maintaining relevance in the industry, being a beacon of hope for women, avoiding bias in the workplace, and the importance of diversity. Each individual shared their insights and experiences, emphasizing the need for women to bring their unique voices and strengths to the table, support each other, and advocate for equity in the workplace, highlighting the crucial role of networking, mentorship, and continuous learning.
Kirthika Padmanabhan, a Co-pilot at X, the moonshot factory, reflected on her leap into Climate Tech after a decade at Google, highlighting the importance of risk-taking: “I kept wanting to move into Climate Tech. Many people along the way said, ‘Who cares? Just join. You have some talent that can become useful once you are in the job, and just take risks.'”
Charlotte Michaluk, an Engineer, Scientist, and Linguistics Researcher at Acnestis By Wind, spoke on navigating self-doubt, emphasizing its role in the research process and the importance of distinguishing between doubting results and doubting one’s abilities: “There exists a healthy amount of self-doubt… However, it’s also crucial to distinguish between doubting the results and doubting our personal capabilities.” “In a situation of conflict, think about how the goal is bigger than ourselves when it comes to sustainability, and it makes any insecurity a lot less significant.”
Emily Teitsworth, Executive Director of the Honnold Foundation, spoke about her views on going beyond the patriarchal values: “Efficiency is not a friend of equity: while how fast we can transition to renewables is being discussed, what will serve us is making sure everyone will be served by this transition.”
Kellie Macpherson, Executive Vice President of Compliance & Risk at Radian Generation, discussed a different perspective on women’s leadership: “In the regulatory energy side, I am often the only woman in the room, but I had to learn that my voice is important. I build teams differently because I am a woman. As we try to achieve gender parity, the world needs every one of your voices. We need to find a place inside of us to have confidence, the world needs that voice and who you are, we’re not going to get there without every single voice.”
Sara Fuentes, Chairwoman of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability and panel moderator, shared her insights, urging attendees to recognize the transformative power of curiosity and the detrimental effects of overlooking women in this sector: “Imagine the impact of overlooking women in the clean tech space?”
