The issues raised by the 10-page memo on the suitability of women for certain engineering and leadership positions at Google (culminating in the firing of its author) have implications for all of us. They are as much about the requirements for success in today’s workplace—and how to identify and nurture those qualities in all employees—as they … Continue reading “Why We All Should Care About the Recent Brouhaha at Google”
Author: Mary Walshok
Mary Walshok is associate vice chancellor for public programs and dean of the extension program at the University of California San Diego. She oversees a $40 million division that educates 60,000 enrollees annually, plus UCSD-TV and UCTV, which reach 22 million households and millions more through the Web. An industrial sociologist, Walshok has studied and written extensively about the key ingredients needed to build knowledge-based clusters and high-wage jobs. She is a co-founder of Connect, the San Diego nonprofit organization for innovation and entrepreneurship. She has served on numerous community and national boards. Her research activities have helped stimulate the development of innovation economies around the world, and even prompted New York, Stockholm, Belfast, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Oslo, and Bergen, Norway, to start their own Connect programs. Walshok also is the co-author of the forthcoming Invention and Reinvention: The Evolution of San Diego’s Entrepreneurial Economy and the author or co-author of Blue Collar Women; Knowledge Without Boundaries; and Closing America’s Job Gap. She's currently working on a handbook on regional innovation for the Oxford University Press.
Why Entrepreneurs Should Care About Inequality and Divisiveness
The horrific news of recent weeks has amplified America’s long-simmering tensions and many divisions, and cast a new and disturbing light on the nature of social and economic inequality in this economy. The shootings that targeted police officers at a peaceful protest in Dallas, which followed the officer-involved shooting deaths of Philando Castile near Minneapolis … Continue reading “Why Entrepreneurs Should Care About Inequality and Divisiveness”
The Innovator’s Gender Dilemma and Venture Rites of Passage
After 40 years as a professional woman who by many standards has “made it,” I am struck by the extent to which young and highly educated—even Ivy-league educated—employees are challenged by the ambiguities and realities of the contemporary competitive workplace. Having always been exceptional, and having done what was expected of them, usually by their … Continue reading “The Innovator’s Gender Dilemma and Venture Rites of Passage”
Expand Our Notion of Success from Wealth Creation to Value Creation
We have too narrow a view of success in the tech community, fueled by investors wanting big returns, business schools reinforcing these values, and universities trying to maximize financial returns on their research. Young people see this. Many children of immigrants want to help their parents’ homelands. Many young people want to build a more … Continue reading “Expand Our Notion of Success from Wealth Creation to Value Creation”
BIO 2014: Two Cities, One Economy, and a Unique Innovation Ecosystem
Editor’s note: Mary Walshok will discuss how Mexican policy is using public-private partnerships to spur biotech innovation and investment in a breakout session Thursday at the BIO 2014 convention in San Diego. —BVB One of the under-appreciated features of the San Diego innovation ecosystem is the increasing significance of its proximity to one of North … Continue reading “BIO 2014: Two Cities, One Economy, and a Unique Innovation Ecosystem”
Women, Success, and Corporate Culture: Are These the Values We Want?
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, is probably right. What it takes to be successful in a U.S. company and what we define as success in America requires the kind of singular focus on developing leadership skills and a strong power base that Sandberg discusses in her book. These are the hard facts of … Continue reading “Women, Success, and Corporate Culture: Are These the Values We Want?”
Four Things I Learned From Studying Innovation in 3 U.S. Cities
I’ve spent most of my career studying how key regions around the world have harnessed their indigenous research capabilities, entrepreneurial spirit, and industrial prowess to realize the economic and employment returns many innovative technologies promise. I’m particularly intrigued by the differences that make some places engines for innovation. If we are to be successful in … Continue reading “Four Things I Learned From Studying Innovation in 3 U.S. Cities”