Beyond the Leaky Pipeline: Redefining Success and Keeping Women in STEM with Cassie Leonard
The episode of Multiple Hats, hosted by Angelique, addresses why women leave STEM,.
Citing a global survey where 50% leave due to burnout and lack of support, 40% for greater fulfillment, and 30% because of bias in career advancement, the authors of beyond the pipeline argue that the real challenge is retention rather than recruitment.
The host introduces a three-episode series on the “leaky pipeline” with authors of Beyond the Pipeline, a collaborative book carrying insights from 25 women in STEM worldwide and grounded in lived experience.
Guest Cassie Leonard, an aerospace engineer who left a senior management role at Boeing, discusses her identity shift in decoupling self-worth from paycheck and title, her FIRE-based financial choices, and how the book rejects the outdated pipeline metaphor in favor of a Rubik’s-cube model of complex, non-linear careers, organizing chapters around values/thriving, drivers of attrition, and solutions, and building an ongoing community via LinkedIn and Slack.
00:00 Why Women Leave STEM
00:46 Beyond Cupcakes Real Support
01:24 Series And Guest Preview
03:25 Meet Cassie Leonard
03:50 Why Write Beyond Pipeline
05:15 Rethinking Leaky Pipeline
06:54 Leaving Boeing Identity Shift
09:05 Redefining Success And Money
12:29 How 25 Authors Wrote Together
16:56 From Pipeline To Rubiks Cube
18:48 Community And Book Tour
20:01 Biggest Attrition Factor Bias
21:26 Ideal Worker Parent Paradox
24:17 Closing Takeaways Next Episode
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