TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: Good
afternoon, everyone.
First of all, on behalf of
the hardworking team at Waymo,
especially the women
creating the Waymo Driver
and our business, I'd like to
thank all of you for joining us
today for our inaugural
Self Driven Women event.
Before we start, a
couple of logistics.
Please use the chat tab to
share your thoughts and comments
and use the ask tab to
submit your questions.
We've already received
lots of questions from you.
And we'll try to get through
as many as we possibly can.
Today, August 26th, we
celebrate Women's Equality Day,
which marks the hundredth
anniversary of the adoption
of the 19th amendment
granting women the right
to vote in the United States.
If we know the history of voting
rights in the United States,
we know this was not the end
of the fight for equality
for all women.
Over the past century,
there has been
enormous progress on the
road towards gender equality.
But the work is
far from complete.
Equality is something that
is near and dear to me
personally, and Waymo as well.
So I'd like to
take a few minutes
and introduce myself,
as well as Waymo.
And then, introduce our panel.
So I'm Tekedra Mawakana.
I'm the COO of Waymo.
I've spent over two
decades in tech,
helping to advance the business
interests of large tech
companies around
the world, tackling
novel and complex issues.
I began my career
as a lawyer focused
on transactions within
the regulated technology
and telecom industries.
I joined Waymo 3
and 1/2 years ago
as Head of Global Public Policy.
My role evolved after that to
lead marketing, public affairs,
and communications.
In 2019, I was named
Chief Operating Officer,
where I continued to lead our
external engagement functions.
And I also oversee
operations, business strategy,
business development.
Overall, my job is to
ensure that Waymo's
transformational technology
is commercialized
across various platforms.
I'm sure most of you
are familiar with Waymo.
But in case you're
not, I'll tell you
a little bit about Waymo.
We're building the world's most
experienced driver, the Waymo
Driver.
Waymo is a self-driving
technology company
with a mission to make it safe
and easy for people and things
to get where they're going.
And we're the first company to
put a fully self-driving car
on the road without a
person behind the wheel.
And that was back in 2015.
In 2009, we were tasked
with working on something,
bringing self-driving
technology to the public,
that most considered impossible.
Before COVID seriously hit
the US back in the spring,
we were proud to serve riders
across metro Phoenix every day.
Thousands of riders
have used our app
to hail a Waymo One ride to
get around in the Phoenix metro
area.
And while we're extremely
proud of the progress we've
made over the last 10
years, we are here today
because there's
still more work to be
done to make this technology
available to more people.
Today, I have the honor
of moderating a discussion
about the opportunities
and challenges of being
women working in mobility.
We've all seen firsthand
the power and success
that engaging, embracing,
and empowering women in tech
can bring.
I'm hopeful that this
discussion will bring awareness
to the low representation
of women in our space
by highlighting
their contributions
and illuminating an inclusive
path forward for all.
Before we dive into
this discussion,
I'd like to give our
panelists a few minutes
to introduce themselves.
And I'll start with Michelle.
Michelle Avary.
MICHELLE AVARY: Well thank you.
What an honor to be here
with everyone today.
And especially with all of these
women on the panel with me.
I'm Michelle Avary.
I'm the head of Automotive
and Autonomous Mobility
at the World Economic Forum.
The World Economic Forum has
been around for 50 years.
We work in the public
private partnership
space, working to improve
the state of the world.
And what that means for me
and my colleagues in mobility
is we want to work to make
sure mobility is safe,
is clean, and is inclusive.
I come to this work with over 20
years of automotive experience,
mostly in the technology space
working on safety and connected
vehicles.
But I did come to this from
a background in banking
as a traditional
economist before I
made the leap from international
banking into automotive.
And I've never looked back.
It's been a really
great decision.
So I look forward
to sharing some
of the things I've learned
with everyone along the way.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA:
Thank you Michelle.
Raquel.
RAQUEL URTASUN: Thanks.
So I'm very, very
excited to be here today.
I think it's definitely a
great moment of celebration
to celebrate with women.
And as there is only, you
know, a few of us here,
but there's so many
more out there.
And so many more
that should be there.
And we hope that a lot
of you will join us.
So, let's see.
I'm a chief scientist at Uber
ATG, as well as a head of R&D
and a professor at the
University of Toronto.
So let me try to very quickly
bring you to my journey
towards getting
where I am today.
I was born in Pamplona, which
is a small town in Spain
many, many years ago.
And although I do AI
artificial intelligence,
this town is very well known for
the running of the bulls, which
is very unrelated things.
And many, many years ago,
more than 20 years ago,
I decided to go for an
internship to France.
And then that was the last
day that I lived in Spain.
Since then, I did my
[INAUDIBLE] in Switzerland,
moved to the US, which
was where everybody
was going at the time.
And six years ago,
I moved to Canada.
So I was a professor there.
And I was very excited to build
[INAUDIBLE] technology in terms
of research.
But one thing was
missing, which is,
I knew that people were using
our technology in companies.
But I wanted to be part of
really bringing this a reality.
So that everyone out
there can actually
benefit from this
technology, no matter
what your income is, no
matter where you live.
And this is why I decided to
start this journey with Uber.
And this is where we are today.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Tilly?
TILLY CHANG: Thank you Tekedra.
Thank you Waymo so much for
having me and sponsoring
this wonderful
day of celebration
for Women's Equality Day.
My name is Tilly Chang.
I serve as the
Executive Director
here at the San Francisco
County Transportation Authority.
So greetings to
everyone in the Waymo
community around the world.
I have been serving here at
the TA for about 17 years,
seven of those years as
the Executive Director,
and the prior 10 as the
Deputy for Planning.
I'm a planner, I'm
an urban planner.
I studied planning
in grad school
here in the Bay Area
at Cal, UC Berkeley.
And then went on to
study further in Boston
and began my career as
a new, young post grad
student in Washington
DC at the World Bank.
From there, I was fortunate
to head back to California.
I spent some time at MTC,
which is our Bay Area
regional agency.
But also at a wireless startup.
And that was fascinating
and very exciting
as a young person coming into
the industry at that time
in the early 2000s.
But soon, I found that
my passion really was
in helping to improve cities.
I went back to the city level
through the Transportation
Authority.
And I've been there
since, since 2003.
Our agency is the planning,
coordinating, funding,
and congestion management
agency for San Francisco.
And in that role, we work with
partners across all the nodes.
Certainly other
transit operators,
bicycle and pedestrian
networks, and even the freeways.
So, I look forward
to, again, sharing
more about our work and my path.
Thank you.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Really exciting and I
appreciate all of you
for doing those introductions.
So as today's conversation
will be about careers in part,
in transportation as
well as self-driving,
we thought it would
be good to open
with a poll for the audience.
So if everyone can go to
the tab that says Poll
and tell us where you
are in your career,
it would be great for us
to know who has joined us
and whether you're just starting
a career in mobility, you're
in another industry, or
you're a seasoned professional
and just looking to network
and get to know more people.
And in the meanwhile, I
will start with questions
for the panelists.
And so I'll start with Tilly.
Which is, you said you've
been in your current role
for 17 years.
How did you start your
career in mobility?
TILLY CHANG: Well thank you.
Again, I think it must have
started even as a kid growing
up here in the Bay Area.
Just taking your bus to the
mall or riding your bike
to the bowling alley, that
really represented freedom.
And I didn't know it then,
but my love affair with cities
probably began then.
It wasn't until I
went to grad school
and did an internship
with the then called Santa
Clara County
Transportation Agency--
the predecessor to, now, Valley
Transportation Authority--
that I really understood that.
You can have a career
in this amazing field.
So, I was a, I
think, a combination
of those internships and
my early sort of studies
at Berkeley, where I studied
environmental policy and urban
planning and civil engineering.
And sort of saw that the
intersection of these
really is
transportation, including
the social aspect,
which I thought
was really, really
important as I
saw the need to
provide for those
who are very transit dependent.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Thank you for that.
And Michelle, you mentioned
that you made this transition
from banking.
And so I'd love to hear
more about that transition.
And also whether in all of
your years in automotive,
whether mobility is the way
you thought about it then?
MICHELLE AVARY: Yeah.
Thank you.
I started my mobility
career in the early 1999
with Toyota Motor Sales, when
they were based in Los Angeles.
They're now based in Plano.
And a friend of mine
actually recruited me
in there out of the
banking industry.
I used to be an international
banker doing emerging markets.
And it turns out that the
skill set of an economist
is very similar to
the skill set needed
to be a strategist
for automotive,
and really looking at what
are those big impacts that
are going to be
hitting the industry.
And back then, it
was online retailing.
Are people going to want to
buy cars and buy parts online?
That was the big question.
But over in the corner was
this little thing about,
what if we put cell
phones in cars?
And nobody knew what that was.
And I went, hey, that's
really interesting.
And got very, very
involved in the telematics
and the connectivity
piece of it.
And the anchoring value
of connected vehicles
has always been, in
my mind's eye, safety.
And how we can improve
product safety.
Because automobiles,
by their very nature,
they can and they
do kill people.
Because we operate them.
Obviously, as we let the
robots begin to operate them,
hopefully, those numbers
go down dramatically.
I believe very strongly
in that promise.
But that's how I
got into automotive.
And I absolutely did not
think of it as mobility.
That took quite a shift to
look at where light passenger
vehicles fit within
the broader picture.
And what is that responsibility
that you have, not only
as a vehicle owner and
operator, but as someone who
sells and services vehicles?
Because they don't
operate in isolation.
And so at the World
Economic Forum,
that's where I've really
made a full transition
to understand automotive space
within the broader mobility
ecosystem.
And the topics only
get more interesting.
And actually, even
more impactful.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
That's great.
Thank you so much for that.
Raquel, you talked a
little bit about your sort
of using your
background in AI and ML
to put it to practical use
in the company environment.
I'd love to hear how
that transition has
gone for you from--
I mean, you're still teaching--
but moving into the Uber space.
RAQUEL URTASUN: Yeah.
So, I guess, so for me, so I've
been doing AI for 20 years.
Right?
And 10 years, I go.
I look at driving as an
application of machine
learning and computer vision.
And I thought this
looks interesting.
You know, after that day,
it became an obsession.
And it's an obsession because
it's such an interesting thing
they call a challenge, right?
Which has something
that really attracts me.
But at the same
time, it's something
that, it really
has the potential
to change the way that we live.
Right?
And, you know, this is something
also like, very interesting
from the perspective
of [INAUDIBLE]
developing technology.
But do it for the greater good.
And I think so
driving has really
the potential to be mobility to
so many people that don't have.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: Yes.
Yes.
That's definitely
something that--
and it's part of
why I asked Michelle
the question about whether--
we talk about mobility today
in a very different way
than, you know, 10
years ago, 15 years ago.
And I think access to
opportunity and mobility
are so closely aligned.
And so the idea
that, whether it's
from a technology perspective
or municipal perspective,
or an organizational global
organizational perspective,
the chance to have impact
is so much greater.
And so given that,
one of the things
I'd love to hear
from each of you are,
you have these
impactful careers.
What are some of the
challenges that you
face that you've had to
overcome in either your current
successful role or
in previous roles?
And I'll start with Raquel.
RAQUEL URTASUN: Yeah.
So, I think, if I look
at my career, right?
So I come from a humble
family in a place in Spain
that nobody knows about
for technology, right?
And it's been a
long journey, right?
A difficult journey
as well from there
to where I am today, right?
And so there has been
so many associations
of people that wanted to
tell me that I was not
sufficiently worth.
Or I could not do as
well as other people.
And I think that one of
the things that I learned
through this journey is really
to never give up and believe
in myself, right?
And it's when, you
know, when people
try to turn you into
who you are in a bad way
so that they can
feel better, right?
It's their insecurities.
And after a while, I realized
that it was more of that,
and actually issues with myself.
And I think that, you know,
I think this journey hasn't
been easy, right?
But I think it's been--
it has really strengthened me.
And I think it's important
to also tell the younger
generation that, you're
not alone when you actually
suffer from discrimination
or things biases, et cetera.
And I think that it's important
to know that all of us that
have arrived in very
successful positions, right?
We actually struggled
in this journey.
And, you know, this is just--
it's important that you
don't give up, right?
And then you continue pursuing
your dream because, you know,
it's really achievable.
And I think that's the
most important thing
that you need to think about.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: I love that.
Sort of self driven women
acknowledge the challenges.
What a wonderful statement.
Tilly, I'll come to you
next with that question
around challenges.
TILLY CHANG: Thank you Tekedra.
I would have to
agree with Raquel.
A lot of it is
really just, again,
recognizing that
with your passion
and building your knowledge
and your networks,
you just have to
believe in yourself.
I was fortunate that I
did have a lot of support.
I had family support.
I had mentors at school and
at my early career stages.
Maybe the barrier
that I think, as I
moved into the sort
of senior ranks,
and potentially even
management and executive ranks,
it was my age, perhaps.
Because it happened a
little bit sooner than we
all thought this
would happen where
my predecessor, our
former Executive Director,
retired a little
sooner than expected.
Again, unexpectedly.
So the opportunity came at a
time when I had just had kids.
I was still building my
knowledge and my skills.
I had a good sized network.
But I didn't feel like
I was yet at that level,
you know, of leading an agency.
And so it was others who
really came and encouraged
me, nudged me, pushed
me, inspired me, really
provided that support.
And I had gone through
leadership and other training
programs.
We can talk about that later.
But until you're in that
position and in that moment
and you're faced with this
opportunity, and it was like,
this was not in my plan.
This is not the right time.
This wasn't supposed
to happen now.
And that's not a barrier.
That's an opportunity.
But again, your own psychology
can also be a barrier.
Certainly once I became
director, you know, I had to,
as an Asian woman, I'm short.
You know, I look perhaps
younger than I actually am.
I think I had to--
and by that time,
had had some
experience, you know,
holding my own in a
meeting, in a conversation,
and negotiating things.
And then that came as
well with experience.
But those were some of the
early sort of challenges
that I had to learn
and try and overcome.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Michelle?
MICHELLE AVARY: I think
it's very interesting.
For me, it wasn't just
getting a seat at the table.
Being invited into the room.
It's actually being heard.
And understanding that
people have different ways
of communicating.
And making space to
hear the different ways
that people communicate
are really important.
And sometimes, that's
not always appreciated,
that there are different
ways of speaking.
Oftentimes, I get interrupted.
I've gotten very good at
saying, I'm not done yet.
I'm going to make
my point and I'm
going to tell my
story in the manner
that is meaningful
to me, and that I
think can communicate it.
Because there's not just
one way to tell a narrative.
There are a lot
of different ways.
So being able to actually
say, hold on a second.
I still want to--
I'm still speaking here,
has been very challenging,
or one of the challenges to
overcome without a doubt.
The other is the assumptions.
As a business person
in a technical field,
is that I do have
technical capabilities.
And not to be assumed
that just because I
don't have an engineering
degree, that I don't understand
how cellular networks work or
how the vehicle networks work.
And so that's been one of the
things that constantly comes up
is that, you have those
abilities to understand
technology as well as business.
But like Tilly, I've
had a lot of support.
I definitely have not
done this on my own.
And so I've been very,
very fortunate in my career
to have some real advocates.
And also, as I've moved
up to managerial ranks,
to get that training.
Because what gets you
a seat at the table
is not the same skills that are
going to get you the position
to lead a department and oversee
an international organization.
Those are very, very
different skills.
And they are skills
that can be learned.
But you need the opportunity
to learn those skills.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: Yup.
By having supporters.
And so I'd love to know
who your supporters were.
You don't have to
mention them by name.
But, I know one thing that,
I was at a conference,
maybe a year and a half ago.
And the women in the
room in the circle
said, how many of you
had a woman mentor?
And no one raised their hand.
And I don't think that was
a reflection of the fact
that there were no supportive
women along the way.
I think it was a reflection
of the absence of women
in that circle of women's
sort of work experience.
Would certainly have
been my experience
and why I didn't raise my hand.
So I'd love to hear who
your supporters have been.
I'm going to start
with you Michelle.
MICHELLE AVARY: Yeah.
It's very interesting.
When you look at
automotive, there
aren't a lot of women in
automotive at the moment.
Well, when I started
20 years ago.
We actually, now
we have Mary Barra,
which is phenomenal that we
have a female CEO of a major car
company.
But I did not have a lot of
female role models or mentors.
I did have my boss, Jim Pies.
I don't my mentioning him.
Who was a huge
supporter of mine.
And remains so to this day,
even though he's retired.
But I also have some peers,
people like Manuela Papadopol,
who's the CEO of
Designated Driver.
She's been a huge
supporter of mine,
and champion and confidante.
And it's also part of the
reason why I started Women
in Automotive Technology.
So we could have a
group of about 120 women
in the Silicon Valley, not
only educating each other
on automotive technical
issues, but supporting
each other in our careers,
doing mentoring and networking.
And also practicing how to
be a subject matter expert,
hold your own space, and
speak publicly on these.
Really, really important.
And without that
group of women, I
don't think I would have
survived the move from Los
Angeles to the Silicon Valley
where the culture was not
the best when it
comes for women.
A little shocking to go from
automotive and being surprised
at the culture in
the Silicon Valley,
just to put that
one in perspective.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: Great.
Raquel?
Who have been some
of your champions?
Or one?
RAQUEL URTASUN: Yeah.
Yeah.
So, Certainly, I like
the other panelists.
I actually didn't
have the mentors that
help me through this journey.
And this is the
way how I learned
about the importance of mentors,
by the lack of such mentors.
So, that being said,
now it's different.
I have actually three
sets of supporters,
which are extremely important.
On one side, I have
my team, that gives me
their unconditional support and
dedication to both our mission
as well as my vision of
how to accomplish it.
I also have, you
know, full support
of the leadership both in
terms of [INAUDIBLE],, our CEO,
and [INAUDIBLE] as well
as [INAUDIBLE] which
is CEO of ATT, which is
our surviving branch.
And lastly, but
not less important,
is the support of
my partner, right?
Having a position of leadership
is very, very, very demanding,
right?
From crazy hours through
the roller coaster
that comes with it.
And I think that
without her support,
that I wouldn't be here today.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Tilly?
TILLY CHANG: Thank you.
I'm going to build on
Michelle and Raquel's answers,
and say that there were
people early in my career
from my professor, Buddy Deacon,
who is now a dear friend,
encouraged me from the very
beginning in this crazy path,
to my colleagues.
I also remember looking up at
the time in my early career
to the first executive director
of our agency, Brigette
Hines [INAUDIBLE],, who
was at the time, one
of the few women leading
transportation agencies here
in the Bay Area, along
with Sharon Banks, who
led AC Transit for many years.
And these are women,
women of color,
who had the ability to kind
of pioneer these pathways
and model them for up and
coming young professionals
like myself.
And took the time to mentor us.
And were open and accessible,
you know, when asked.
You had to approach them.
So I'm sure we'll talk a
little bit about that later.
But, I feel so grateful,
also from the men
who mentored me as well.
I want to shout out
to many of them.
But I don't want to--
so there's just so many folks.
But, ultimately, I think
the family and your friends,
the family you choose,
you know, that's who's
really going to support you
as you go through the path.
And, you know, ladies out
there, and men, choose wisely.
These are the key folks who
are going to be in your corner,
again, when you face
the big decisions,
have the big opportunities,
or have fallback.
You know, have disappointments
or have challenges.
So these are the
choices we make.
And I couldn't be more
lucky in that department.
So.
That was a good choice.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA:
Yeah, that's great.
That's great.
So just a little sharing,
so everyone knows who's on.
We have about 3% of the audience
is 0-1 years of experience
mobility.
1-5 is the majority,
which is 30%.
5-10 years, 23%.
And then 10 plus years, 12%.
So we have a nice range of
people just starting out.
And for people
who just graduated
and are interested in building
a career in mobility, 8%.
So we have a nice diverse group
of people who've tuned in.
So going back to a poll, we're
going to ask the audience
to take the poll.
Do you believe there
are inherent gender
biases in mobility?
One of the things we
constantly hear about
is the pipeline problem
in tech and engineering.
Specifically, 57% of
professional occupations
in the US in 2019
were held by women.
And 26% of those were in
professional computing.
Only 26% of that, and only 3%
were African-American women
in 2019.
7% were Asian women.
And 2% were Hispanic women.
So in transportation, the
situation is even worse.
Women represent 15% of the
transportation workforce,
according to a study from Mineta
Transportation Institute at San
Jose State University.
So it gives us sort of a
rich area to dive into,
which is, what are the
barriers that women
face getting into the mobility
space and being successful?
So one of the questions
that I'd love to ask Tilly
relates to urban planning.
Urban planning,
historically and typically,
has been largely driven by men.
And so, there are ways in
which transportation has not
been deemed inclusive.
And so would love
your view on how this
can change and is evolving.
TILLY CHANG: Thank you Tekedra.
I do have hope that
we are on a good path.
Even a few years ago,
our Bay Area chapter
of WTS, the Women's
Transportation Seminar,
documented that we
were in the 10% range,
as far as women in public
and private organizations
at the senior management levels.
I just checked this past week.
And according to the
more recent surveys,
they're in their third round
of their glass ceiling studies,
it has popped up to about 30%.
Obviously, that's distributed
across different organizations
in different ways.
But that's encouraging
that we're making progress.
I think that the 15% nationwide
that Mineta documented is
a real problem.
And there are so
many roots to it.
It's not just for women.
It's people of color.
It's people of different
gender identities
and physical abilities.
So growing the awareness
through programs like this
and through trainings
and through community
sort of engagement,
I think, is critical.
The leadership of organizations
speaking up and supporting
training and sort of pro,
sort of equality policies
and diversity and other
types of leadership programs
is critical.
Providing moms and dads--
new moms and dads--
enough time to
spend with newborns
or to care for elderly
senior, as our parents
are aging, really critical.
So that there's not
a gender bias there.
And finally, documenting
through research.
And I'll just give a
shout out to LA Metro
for having done some
groundbreaking pioneering
research last year in their
How Women Travel Study.
And please look that up.
To diagnose the problem.
What kinds of trips should we
be planning for that we're not
planning for?
We're so understandably focused
on the peak period commute.
But so many more of the
trips that women make
and care providers make
is in the off peak.
As well as in the
modes of travel,
where we can see the effects
of that unreliability,
that slow travel time,
or high transit fares
that are not going to be
compensated by your commuter
benefit check necessarily.
So I think that's critical.
They document the pink tax.
And so these are
things that we all
need to learn about and also
bring into our organizations
so that we can be
part of the solution.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Thank you for that.
A related question, I'm going
to go back to the audience
just to do this other
because it's a related poll,
and then throw a question
over to you, Michelle.
Which is, what are the key
barriers to getting more women
involved in mobility?
And one of the options there
relates to the gender pay gap.
And so, Michelle, I
know that WEF has done
some amazing work in this area.
And would just love for
you to share with us.
MICHELLE AVARY: Sure.
The World Economic Forum puts
out the economic participation
and opportunity gap.
And in the latest assessment, we
show that at the current rate,
it's going to take us 257 years
to close the gender pay gap.
I think we need to be
very intentional if we're
going to increase the pipeline
for women and diversity
and inclusion within mobility.
And I think that requires
calling it out, and not
allowing things like comments
such as, well we don't
care who the candidate is.
We just want the best candidate.
That definitely
bothers me greatly.
Because if we are not
intentional, if we don't say,
yeah, I don't care.
If you don't bring me half of
the candidates for this role
that are women, that
are people of color,
then I'm actually
not interested.
Then you're not looking,
you're not trying.
You really have to try and you
have to go above and beyond.
And I think that's
very important.
When it comes to
filling that pipeline,
the Forum also has something
that we call hard wiring gender
parity.
And this is a framework
that is in development
that is working to
increase representation
in all phases of
the talent pipeline.
And it's asking a couple
questions like, identify
the five emerging
high growth areas
in roles and in leadership
roles within your company.
And commit to recruiting
50% of those to be women.
And also developing a strong
gender equity reward system.
So you pay for bringing in
diversity and inclusion.
It'll get there really fast.
But I also want to echo what
Tilly was talking about.
Because if we don't
ask the questions
about how women travel
and how elderly travel
and how lower income families
and households, how much they
pay for their
mobility, and if we
don't understand
these questions,
we actually can't
solve for them.
So that also requires
having leadership and people
in these organizations that
represent the communities.
And this is also an
area an enormous focus
for the Forum at the moment.
So stay tuned.
We're going to be coming
out with a lot more work
and asking for some help
as we shine a spotlight
on inclusivity in mobility.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Related to this, Raquel,
as you're trail blazing,
as you said.
There weren't people before you.
And you came into this role.
And how does your presence,
do you think-- it's much more
of a personal question about
your role as a trailblazer--
sort of pave the way for
some of these conversations
to happen at the table
on inclusive products
and outcomes, ultimately?
RAQUEL URTASUN: Yeah, so I
think that along the way has
helped to show by demonstration
that something is possible.
And one can have a different
point of view and bring,
you know, a different
sort of diversity
to try to bring
solutions to the table.
And I think that there is
much more acknowledgement now
of, this is actually
a positive, right?
I think, I mean,
in my current role,
we have quite the [INAUDIBLE]
diversity of leadership.
So this is great compared to
what it was through my journey.
But, you know, when I studied,
for example, undergrad in Spain
is very interesting.
We were 50% male, 50% female.
I was an electrical engineer.
And I thought the
word was like this.
Equal.
And then I move and then
the world, you know,
was no different than
what I have seen.
So I think that for
me, we need to try
to help through our
experience, and help
everybody such that nobody
drops this journey, right?
I think that's important.
Now coming back to the
question of the hiring pipeline
and how we can improve this.
I think the most
important thing, really,
is to be proactive.
This isn't something that
you're just going to sit down
and diversity's going to happen.
And it's not a matter
of dollars, right?
It's much more important
that the monetary side,
the financial side,
is actually time.
You need to spend time, right?
For example, right?
We need to go and,
through scholarships,
through workshops, through
talks, through mentorship
programs with very
young women, we
need to help them see
that actually, mobility
is a very exciting topic.
And it's a topic where they
have so much to contribute.
Also I think that we need to
be careful in the interview
process.
We need to make sure that
we have diverse candidates.
And we need to make sure also
that we don't have these biases
that internally we have and
we select who to interview
and who to make an offer to.
So we need to always unbias,
or compensate for the biases
that we all have.
Because we all have biases.
No matter how much we
care about diversity.
The other thing I
think that is important
is that once woman
reach our workforce,
it's our responsibility
to make sure
that we have them into
growing in the organization.
And this is reflected,
for example,
by the fact that
women have a tendency
to speak less, or say we, when
they do, and they when it's we.
Versus male, it's
very different.
I think when it comes to
performance, to promotions,
we need to take
this into account.
Haven't they speaking because
they haven't done it or is
because, you know,
they just being shy
and they want their teammates
to actually have, you know,
the glory.
This happens quite a lot.
I think it's important
also to as you say,
have them mentor and build
through the organization.
And I think, I
guess, in general, we
need to be like,
very, very proactive.
And since we have
experienced this,
we can actually see a
lot of these things.
And we need to educate
our colleagues that
haven't seen this because
they haven't seen it,
and they haven't been
on our side of things.
And having allies, and making
sure that everybody actually
really understand what's
going on here, I think,
is fundamental.
Because, just by ourselves,
we will never change.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: Yes.
Yeah.
I really appreciate
all of those comments.
It makes me think about,
you know, it's exciting,
because, you know, the
Waymo Driver is obviously
this opportunity
for transportation
to be equitable,
accessible, and to eliminate
some of these biases.
Also, though, the
people who we hire
to work on these technologies
are a critical part
of how you get there.
And so I love hearing all of
these really practical tips
that you all are offering.
And recently, I
have found myself
wanting to name gendered
issues more explicitly.
And it goes to what
you just said, Raquel.
You know, whether a woman
is more likely or less
likely to want to take credit
for the work of her team.
That's challenging.
Because when you are a
leader, you have to say,
I was responsible for
all of this great output.
And, at the same time, give
your team the room to shine.
Versus saying, I didn't do that,
so I can't take credit for it.
And so that really
resonates too,
that we have to build
systems within our companies
to recognize some of
those differences.
And then account for them.
So going to the poll
that the audience did,
do you believe that
there are inherent gender
biases in mobility?
27% strongly agree.
50% agree.
So 77% are in the agree side.
15% neutral.
2% disagree.
And 0% strongly disagree.
So I think that's
really great insight.
And then our third poll
question, we have the data too.
Which is, what are the key
barriers to getting more women
involved in mobility?
And 19% said limited access
to female role models.
So I hope that means that
self driven women and all
of the other organizations
that you all are a part of
will start to change that.
15% say lack of mentors, which
we will turn to in a moment
too.
21% say lack of awareness and
relevant content, which I think
is really--
that's a really
powerful point, right?
Like what-- so many of these
jobs didn't exist before.
And so how do we make sure,
as these careers evolve,
that people and schools
understand them?
0% said unequal growth
opportunities compared to men.
0% said gender pay gap.
And 5% said other.
So the vast majority think
that it's lack of awareness,
limited access to female role
models, and lack of mentors.
Really interesting.
Any comments from you all
on that before we move on?
Yeah?
MICHELLE AVARY: Yeah,
I think the importance
of automotive industry
on the world economy
has not really been
highlighted lately.
If you look in
the US alone, it's
almost 10 million
people are employed
in the automotive industry.
It contributes
about $953 billion
to the gross domestic product.
And half of the companies that
are listed in the Dow Jones
Industrial Average get
the bulk of their revenues
from automotive.
We also know that mobility is
a direct path to prosperity.
That if you don't
have the ability
to get to where the jobs are,
to get to where health care is,
to education, it directly
impacts your ability
to live and to thrive.
So it is of incredible
consequence to all of us.
And so to see those numbers
is a real like, wow.
We need to do a
better job talking
about the importance
of it and how
there is this
opportunity to jump in
and to help solve
these problems.
Because we do need
people's diverse
perspectives to help us
solve these problems.
We're at a huge point
right now where we're not
going to do this alone.
When you look at
what's happening
with public transportation
systems all over the world,
with being greatly constrained
with a loss of revenues.
And then potentially
a lot more people
jumping into private
vehicles, which
can cause a lot
of other problems,
not only safety related,
but also environmental.
But just thinking about, how
are we going to move forward?
We all really need
to come together
and envision that future.
And then we need
to make it happen.
And so this is a really
great opportunity
for people to get involved.
So I want to spend a little--
I'm taking this one
back to the Forum.
We're going to talk a
bit more about this one.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
We look forward to what
you come back with.
I really appreciate that.
We're going pivot just a little
now, because where, as I said,
we have all these questions
that people have submitted.
And we've tried to
group them into themes.
And so, in light of the
answers to the last poll,
I think we'll dive
right in on mentors.
We've talked a bit
about sort of champions.
But let's specifically
answer the question of,
how do you seek out mentors?
And is there a way
to prepare teachers
to offer this type of
support to their students?
What do you guys
think about this?
We'll start with you, Raquel.
RAQUEL URTASUN: Yeah, yeah.
So I guess as a professor,
this one is particularly
hitting home.
I think, I guess the
question is, should you
be seeking mentors?
Or should you have somehow--
should we provide
already a mentorship such
that you don't need
to seek for mentors?
And I think that for
me, we need to make sure
that, you know,
throughout your education,
there is all the different
mechanism so that you can
actually have the mentorship
that is going to allow you
to go to the next
level, the next thing
that you're going
to do in your life.
So I take this as
a, you know, it
looks like, you know,
from the poll report,
it was a very, very
large percentage.
And no mentors, no
female role models.
So it seems that, particularly
in mobility, you know,
I think we are doing very bad
in this [INAUDIBLE] right?
Or I guess women have comprised
less numbers than [INAUDIBLE]..
So I think it has
to be much more
proactive from the
mentors' perspective,
to provide opportunities.
Because I think,
oftentimes, it's scary.
It's hard.
One is shy.
You don't, you know, you
have a fear of ridicule.
Whatever it is.
Imposter syndrome,
right, that prevents you
from actually seeking
out opportunity.
That if you ask
for it, you know,
the mentor is going
to be, oh my god.
This is a brilliant
woman that, you know,
I would love to mentor, right?
So I think that just
connecting these two parts,
and if we can actually
create processes
that allow us to connect
those more easily,
I think we will go a long way.
And there is, many,
these days, there
is many initiatives
[INAUDIBLE] for example,
in the research
community, there is
women in x for every
conference, every [INAUDIBLE],,
which is great.
But I think along the way
there is more to be done.
Historically, there is
some places meaning,
whether is particular colleges,
universities, high schools,
say countries, where it's
actually much easier to get
access to all these things.
And some others,
much more difficult.
And I think we should think
about how to build, you know,
[INAUDIBLE] actually is global.
Because the world is global.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Anyone else have
anything else to add?
Yeah, Tilly, I see
you jumping in there.
TILLY CHANG: Sure.
I hope everyone who is listening
seeking a mentor will LinkedIn.
In all of us after this.
And I I'm sure it will be hard
for us to respond immediately.
But I will be committed
to doing my best.
And, you know, it just takes
that initiative, I think.
And being proactive.
I think Michelle and Raquel both
mentioned this, and all of us
understand that people are busy.
You know, even if
the intent is there,
you do have to seek it out.
And I think it's part of
showing the initiative
in your organization, whether
you're seeking assignments,
volunteering for things.
It takes a lot of energy.
It takes a lot--
sometimes, it takes,
you know, some gumption.
But I do think
that that pays off.
And getting involved
in your workplace,
or even in your professional
associations in your community.
And that can be, again,
industry associations,
charitable
organizations, be they,
you know, sort of
advocacy organizations.
We have in the Bay Area
think tanks like Spur.
And different communities
have different ways
of getting plugged in.
But I think getting
involved somehow
in your industry, in
your organization,
seeking that mentorship from
those who went before you,
of course.
Not just your boss, but
diversifying your network
so that you can seek that
relationship with others,
not just in your own
agency or your own company.
But certainly, peer to peer
as well has worked for me,
and has worked for a lot
of our staff, you know,
that they've taken the
initiative, and it's great.
And we support them.
We provide training budgets.
So I hope companies and agencies
are providing budgets for folks
to join different associations
and memberships and things
like that.
Provide the time and the
space and as well model.
Model the ability to mentor
formally or informally.
Because we've gone
to more continuous.
Hopefully, not just at
the annual review time.
Different agencies and companies
have done different things.
And there's philosophies
around that.
But I just also love
the informal networks.
And women are, by our
nature, very collaborative.
And seeking that out in
different forums in your life,
I found, has been really
helpful for myself.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
That's great.
And Michelle, you started to
answer this next question.
And so it may relate
also to the mentor.
But, I mean, what do you think--
this is from the audience.
What do you think
the biggest barrier
is when it comes to having
women in leadership roles
in the mobility sector?
And you talked a
bit about, you know,
carving out your
space at the table
to communicate
your perspectives.
What are some of your
other observations?
MICHELLE AVARY: It is
definitely carving out space.
And also being intentional
and really seeking
to have that diversity.
I think we've mentioned
it before that it's not
going to happen by accident.
You need to be open to
having different perspectives
and voices in the room, and
to actually hearing them.
And if you don't make
a concerted effort
to diversify your
leadership, it just,
it simply isn't going to happen.
And I think that's
very important.
And it does also relate
to mentorships as well.
One of the things that's been
very important and helpful
to me is to have mentors at
different stages in my life.
Like for example, when I
was pregnant, or right after
I gave birth.
I was lucky enough that
my husband stayed home
with our child and that
allowed me the freedom
to not just be a mother, but
also to spend time nurturing
my career as well.
But I needed parents
who were also
going through this to help me
figure out those balance times.
Because that is also
very unique as you're
being promoted and managing,
and then still also nursing.
You could really use a mentor
to help you figure out,
how do you say, I'm sorry.
I need to leave this
meeting because I
need to go express my milk.
Can you really be very blunt?
And will the men in the
room not look at you
like just said a foreign word?
And so I think that
when I say being
open to hearing different
kinds of communication
and different realities, I
think that is really, really,
really important.
And understanding it's
not just the mothers.
It's also the people
who don't have children.
They also still have a life
and have a right to it as well.
So I think a lot more open
to different ways of living
and different stages in your
development of your life
are important as
we look to making
the workplace more inclusive.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: Yes.
Yeah, and thank you
for highlighting--
both of you highlighting
some of the--
we're self driven women.
And then some of the self
driven women are also
self driven women who've
given birth to humans
or who've adopted humans.
And so that adds its own
element of career complexity.
So I really appreciate that.
So, what are some of
the personal initiatives
that you've taken to make
sure that the challenges faced
by you won't be faced by
those who come after you?
This was actually
a question, or one
of the themes, that
came from the audience.
It's also something that recall
touched on when she was talking
about her journey a bit.
So interested in all of
your perspectives on that,
looking at the--
knowing that we're nearing
the end of our time.
But also just really want each
of you to answer this one.
MICHELLE AVARY:
Sure I can jump in.
One of the first
advocacy positions I took
was actually in Toyota in
creating a LGBTQIA affinity
group to make sure that our
employees were recognized.
And also to help train
executives on the issues
and on simple things
like vocabulary.
Really understanding how to
be comfortable in speaking
and recognizing the needs
of our LGBT associates.
And then, that, I was
very proud that that group
evolved to being part of the HRC
corporate responsibility index.
And I checked right
before coming.
And Toyota is still on
there with 100% score,
which I'm incredibly proud of.
And to know that we have
senior executives at Toyota who
are out and who are open.
And when you create a safe place
for lesbians, gays, bisexual,
transgender, you're also
making a safe place for women.
So it's like double
bonus right there.
But then, also the women
in automotive technology
and giving back and having a
really practical way for women
to practice public
speaking and to network
have been very,
very vital to me.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Thanks.
TILLY CHANG: I can
go next Tekedra.
So, for me, one of
the things we did
was we surveyed our staff
right away as I became
direct executive director.
And I wanted to know.
I wanted to know the
good, the bad, the ugly.
It was our time to
do whatever we needed
to do to reform, what
needed to change, as well
as to grow what was working.
So, you know, what's working?
What's not?
What should we continue doing?
What should we stop doing?
We did all of that,
and diversity came up.
So, we had been doing
some positive things.
But we really wanted
to step that up.
So over the years,
we've instituted things
like anonymizing resumes
when we have recruitments.
So that hiring
managers may not know
in that first round or
two, you know, who they're
going to be interviewing.
They just see the backgrounds
in terms of credentials.
You know, we looked at the
job descriptions, and said,
you know, do we really need x
years of masters and graduates?
Or can some work experience
really substitute for that?
Really understanding, I
think, mentoring opportunities
and supporting staff
with their own budgets.
And saying, hey, go spend
this how you would like.
If you would like to hire a
professional coach or a life
coach or sign up for classes
or join 20 organizations
memberships, it's up to you.
So we give everybody
$1,000 a year at least.
And then, more if
it's warranted.
And then we also invest in
just a lot of time for folks
to participate in cross
cutting, knowledge sharing
opportunities.
And we also have a racial equity
working group that we've begun.
And that it's been a
three year initiative.
And it really came in to bold
relief, of course, this year.
But we're so glad we started
that work because it's
a lot of work to look inside
yourself and your organization.
And then to look to see how
you show up in your community
and with your partners outside.
So those are some of the things
that we've started to do.
And as Michelle said, there's so
much intersectionality, right,
as you work on gender, race,
or other types of diversity
issues that inclusion
topics, that these
are the benefits
that then can grow
from any of those initiatives.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Raquel, anything to add to that?
RAQUEL URTASUN: Yeah, yeah.
So, at Uber, we have a lot of
great [INAUDIBLE] initiatives.
So in that sense, I'm fortunate
that I don't need to spearhead,
you know, all these things.
But I'm definitely a
very, very big supporter.
Now I do lot of things
externally in order to--
from mentorship to awareness
to all sorts of workshops,
et cetera, to really raise
awareness of the issue.
And you know, inside
the organization
is more of education of both
my team and educating them in,
why do we care about diversity?
This is not just
something that you look
good if you have diversity.
This is not the thing.
Or you look back at if you're
not, which is more [INAUDIBLE]
than anything else.
So this is not [INAUDIBLE].
There is so many benefits
to having diversity.
And helping them also.
They come from very
different backgrounds, right?
Having them understand what
are the biases inherently
that we all have?
And how to watch out
for them, and how
to make sure that
everybody speaks,
that everybody's
heard, et cetera.
And you know, just within my
team, and within, you know,
all the different levels of
leadership, which I think
is important to [INAUDIBLE]
and continue to really expose
what the issues are.
Because they are not
necessarily always so apparent.
Although for us, they are.
Because we are in
the midst of it.
It's not necessarily
the case for someone
that is not receiving
side of things.
TEKEDRA MAWAKANA: That's great.
Well, I really appreciate
all of those answers.
And I know we have so
many more questions.
What this self
driven women event
reminds me is, in
the time of COVID,
for those of us who are still
sheltering in place and home,
is humans have a
deep seeded desire
to connect and
learn and explore.
And so this, today,
is one of the ways
that this perfect storm
came together and gave us
all the chance to be together
in this virtual platform.
I'll just share that
as someone who's
been in tech for two decades, I
didn't know that I would end up
in mobility.
Because I believe
deeply that technology
can improve people's
lives if you
focus on the meaningful
applications of technology.
And so I ended up in
the mobility space.
And then, in my
time here at Waymo,
we've ended up in the middle
of, you know, quite possibly
the most racially charged
time in my time in tech.
And I feel tremendously
fortunate to be at a company
where, from the CEO
to the leadership team
to many employees, have
really embraced this moment,
and have engaged in the
conversation and the journey
of learning and tolerance and
understanding and compassion.
And I'll say as a woman,
and as a black woman, that's
super important to me.
But as the mother of an
11-year-old black boy,
it's everything.
Like, it is the most
important thing.
And so I just share that
as my personal, what
is different from when I came to
how I will see it going forward
is the willingness to engage
in these really hard and real
authentic conversations.
So I want to thank
everyone for coming today.
I'm really excited
to share that we've
had about 250 people join us.
So, we will continue
to have more
of these groups,
these opportunities.
And thank you to our panelists.
Really, just such an honor
to learn more about you.
And really excited.
And Tilly, now that you've put
the LinkedIn request out there,
I'm sure we're all
going to be connected
in more ways than one.
And for everyone, look out for
an invite to our next event.
Thank you.
