What is MMWSS?

"The salons were the highlight of the entire event for me; this unique format allowed me to learn about the specific experiences of other women in STEM and brainstorm ideas for solutions to problems."

- 2018 Attendee

Who was Maria Mitchell?

"The woman who does her work better than ever woman did before helps all woman kind, not only now, but in all the future, she moves the whole race no matter if it is only a differential movement, it is growth. "

– Maria Mitchell

What is a Salon?

The French salon, a product of the Enlightenment in the early eighteenth century, was a key institution in which women played a central role. Salons provided a place for women and men to congregate for intellectual discourse. In a male-dominated society, women served as the hostesses, decided the agenda of topics to be discussed, and regulated the conversation. This led to reduced marginalization of women in Paris. The emergence of salons allowed for leadership and involvement for women in intellectual areas in Paris in the early eighteenth century.
From Dorinda Outram, The Enlightenment. 2. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2005. 88-114

With a large group as we find ourselves during this Symposium, we want to give everyone the ability to voice their thoughts, opinions, and ideas. Since we remain as one large group for most of the time, these salons will offer all of us a more intimate setting in which everyone will feel able to speak out. From these salons, we hope to begin to brainstorm and to create real-world solutions that we can take back to our places of work. And, in the spirit of Maria Mitchell, “We are women (and men) studying together.”