Bonita Banducci: Transformative Education, Gender, and Human Potential
Bonita Banducci teaches Gender and Engineering for Santa Clara University’s School of Engineering Graduate Program Core Curriculum. She was named a Silicon Valley Woman of Influence 2014 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Banducci's original research in one of Silicon Valley's Fortune 500 companies “What is the Contribution Women Make that Could be the Strategic Advantage in the Global Marketplace?” launched her work in Gender Competence®, a new framework for understanding gender differences as competencies. As a founder of the Global Women's Leadership Network, she has been faculty and coach for the Women Leaders for the World Program. She consults with organizations from all sectors: business, non-profit, academia, and government.
In this conversation, we discuss Banducci’s career path, her course in gender and engineering, how STEM and gender intersect, and the meaning of transformative education.
Interview Highlights
1:45- Bonita’s career journey. “To be honest, it all started with my great social awakening in elementary school…”
13:05- The connection between Bonita’s career path and passions. "I’m an advocate for what’s possible in innovation when differences work together."
17:00- More about Bonita’s Gender and Engineering class. “It really is a joy for me that I have men that have been promoted because of their effectiveness. I’ve had students get A’s in other classes because they understand how to work with differences. The side benefit is having personal relationships work.”
20:40- Advice to an incoming student
22:30- Favorite place she’s traveled
23:40- What message she would send to the entire U.S. “We can do this together. We can. We do need to listen to what we all need and what we all have to contribute. I think we’re on the verge of creating a much more engaged populous. My mantra is, ‘everything can be worked out in communication.’”
