Ordinarily Extraordinary - Conversations with women in STEM
We’re Kathy Nelson and Linda LaTourelle — co-hosts of Ordinarily Extraordinary: Conversations with Women in STEM.
Kathy, an electrical engineer, launched the podcast in 2020 to share real, unfiltered stories of women working across STEM disciplines. Now with over 130 episodes, the mission remains the same: to amplify the voices of ordinary women doing extraordinary work in science, technology, engineering, and math.
We’re deeply committed to:
- Normalizing the presence of women in STEM by making their stories visible
- Building community for women who may be the only ones like them in their workplace
- Educating listeners about the wide variety of STEM careers — and what they actually look like
- Empowering growth and retention by addressing the challenges behind the leaky pipeline
From early-career professionals to experienced leaders, our guests share how they got started, how they’ve grown, and what they’ve learned along the way. This podcast is a space where women in STEM can be seen, heard, and supported — because representation isn’t just powerful, it’s essential.
Ordinarily Extraordinary - Conversations with women in STEM
68. Anna Sannö - PhD, Innovation & Design; Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering
Anna Sannö is a Research Strategy Manager at Volvo Construction Equipment (CE) in Sweden. In addition to her technical role, Anna works within Volvo and the Vera program, a series of innovation workshops dedicated to encourage girls to explore careers in technology and engineering. The Vera program is named after Sweden's first female engineer, Vera Sandberg.
Anna holds a PhD in Innovation and Design and a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering. She is also a senior lecturer at Örebro University.
Episode Notes
Anna shares Volvo CE's Vera program and its goal of encouraging girls to continue their interest in engineering and technology which has a tendency to decrease around middle school. She discusses what she does at her job as a Research Strategy Manager and what got her interested in engineering.
We dive into a discussion about why girls' interest in technology and engineering seems to decrease in middle school and the importance to bringing women in STEM fields into our daily lives.
Music used in the podcast: Higher Up, Silverman Sound Studio
Acronyms, Definitions, and Fact Check
Volve CE Vera Program - https://www.volvoce.com/global/en/news-and-events/press-releases/2021/innovation-has-no-gender-volvo-ce-inspiring-tomorrows-female-engineers/
I was unable to find a study about the long term effects of same sex education. However, I did find an interesting article about the debate. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/the-never-ending-controversy-over-all-girls-education/284508/
Women leave STEM fields at a disproportionately higher rates than men. This article has one of the most comprehensive data sets I've seen on women in STEM in different fields in different countries. https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem/
Women make up 34% of engineering majors in Sweden. (https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/countries-with-less-gender-equity-have-more-women-in-stem-huh/)
