Global Semiconductor Alliance

ACTIVITY THREE: WOMEN'S LEADERSHIPThe GSA Women's Leadership Initiative (WLI) seeks in increase the number of young STEM focused women to the semiconductor industry, to retain, develop and promote women already in the industry and to support female entrepreneurs. The GSA has created a separate website for this initiative www.designthesolution.org. Objective 1: Attract more young women to the industry. The GSA has severalprograms directed at students.1) University ProgramsThe GSA seeks to attract more women to the semiconductor industry and does this through creating university programs whereby it brings in its member companies and young women from the industry to demonstrate to the female students why this is such an exciting and vibrant industry and why women should join the industry. This is done both domestically and internationally.2) Internship & New Hire PortalThe GSA has developed a job and internship portal to connect current and aspiring semiconductor professionals to opportunities in the field.3) Industry BrandingThe GSA believes that part of the problem for young students to choose thesemiconductor industry is that it has become a "boring" industry, so the GSA puts a huge effort in rebranding the industry away from the deep tech details to tell students that they can design the solution to many of the world's most daunting challenges including climate change, endemic poverty, lack of healthcare, etc. The GSA has created www.designthesolution.org which includes many resources for students and women in the industry and includes the rebranding of the industry.4) Visibility CampaignThe GSA believes that by showing young women what other women haveaccomplished in the industry that this will help make this a more attractive industry. The GSA utilizes social media to provide visibility of women in our industry. This platform is very important and is widely praised.Objective 2: Retain, Develop and Promote Women. This objective is accomplished through the following:1) EventsThe GSA hosts a number of exciting in-person and virtual events throughout the year. The marquee event is Women in Semiconductor Hardware (WISH). This annual conference offers a mix of inspirational and technical topics for attendees to explore, and it is free for students. WISH brings together industry luminaries, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, and university students in STEM to recognize and demonstrate women's technical prowess in the semiconductor ecosystem and celebrate their contributions to the industry.2) Visibility PlatformVisibility Campaign - The GSA regularly showcases inspirational women in thesemiconductor industry on Its Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts.3) Presentations/MarketingThe GSA's CEO is often asked to speak to women's groups including NVIDIA, Micron, Ansys and Analog Devices.4) ResourcesThe GSA produces other resources, including:a. WLI Women's Directory, a comprehensive database of women in thesemiconductor industry;b. Best Practices Playbook and its accompanying CEO Pledge, which serveas a guide for companies committed to uplifting industry women and closing the gender gap;c. Women in the Semiconductor Industry Survey & Whitepaper, a study ofgender equality in the semiconductor industry;d. WLI Newsletter, a quarterly publication that connects women in thesemiconductor industry; ande. Woman2Woman, Mentoring Moments for Women in the Workforce, videos which are a resource to current and future semiconductor industry women.5) CommitteesThe GSA maintains certain committees for women, including an EntrepreneurCommittee, Marketing Committee and New Technical Hires Committee.6) Women in Hardware Mentorship ProgramWomen in Hardware Mentorship (WHM) Program - 2023 is the pilot year for thisprogram. This program aims to help mid-career level mentees develop leadership skills and help them advance into leadership roles. The program's goal is to build a support community of women in hardware engineering across the industry and companies to encourage the culture of mentorship and experience sharing.7) Speakers BureauThe WLI Speakers Bureau is a comprehensive repository of women qualified andavailable to speak on business trends, market drivers, and technical issues. Submitting to the Speakers Bureau is a free and member-only benefit. Both GSA and our many members companies pull speakers from this database for various events.8) AwardsThe GSA maintains a number of awards for women, including: Rising Women ofInfluence Award, Dr. Lisa Su Woman of Innovation Award, Female Up and ComerAward and Designing the Difference Award.Objective 3: Funding for Women-led companiesThe WLI also seeks to help women-led companies obtain funding. This is accomplished through the events and committees discussed above. In addition, the GSA's VC Directory, also discussed above, is another valuable resources for women-led companies seeking funding. The WLI also provides speaking opportunities for women and maintains an Entrepreneurial Blog in which WLI spotlights accomplished women in the industry.