During the TIME Women of the Year Leadership Forum held in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Amanda Nguyen, an astronaut and activist, highlighted the prevalence of gender-based violence experienced by women in STEM fields.
Nguyen, a survivor of assault who once aspired to be an astronaut, shared her experience: “In my situation, I was dreaming of going to be an astronaut, and then I was assaulted. When I found out that my evidence could be destroyed, I had to make a choice between my justice or my dreams of being an astronaut. At those crossroads, I put down my telescope, picked up a pen, and rewrote the law.”
Nguyen, founder of the nonprofit Rise which aids survivors of sexual assault, spearheaded the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act. This act, signed into law by then-President Barack Obama in 2016, reformed the handling of sexual assault evidence-collection kits. Now, she is preparing to become the first Vietnamese woman in space, and she intends to take a meaningful item with her.
“All astronauts have a zero-g indicator when we reach space; it’s a little something that floats. And mine is something very special to me,” Nguyen explained. “When I left the hospital after my rape, I wrote a promise to myself: ‘Never, never, never give up.’ And so I taped that, and I looked at that note to help me graduate Harvard. I looked at it when I was fighting for my rights in Congress, in the United Nations, and I will be looking at it when I float over Earth.”
Nguyen, whose memoir, Saving Five, is launching next week, was joined on stage by Nazanin Boniadi, an actor, producer, and activist advocating for the #WomanLifeFreedom movement in Iran, and Carin Giuliante, chair and CEO of Deloitte Tax LLP, the first woman to head Deloitte’s tax division (Deloitte sponsors the TIME Women of the Year Leadership Forum). The panel, moderated by TIME deputy editor Kelly Conniff, addressed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in light of President Donald Trump’s recent stance against prioritizing DEI. Boniadi emphasized the significance of representation while also cautioning against tokenism.
“Several years ago, I had the privilege and honor of being invited to become a member of the Motion Picture Academy, and I remember, I was with a dear male friend of mine, who happens to be a film director, and he said, ‘Well, it’s a great time for you: you’re a woman and you’re a woman of color.’ And I thought: that was a jab in my heart,” Boniadi recounted. “I felt like this was sort of a milestone, something that I should be proud of, and I realized it’s still looked at as a quota, checking a box.”
“I don’t like that feeling,” she added. “DEI serves the purpose of leveling the playing field, as it should. And the backlash to that, of course, is, is it fair? But surely we can have an industry that is merit based, but also includes representation and diversity, and I think that’s what we should be working towards.”
Conniff inquired about Giuliante’s experiences in a male-dominated field and whether she had mentors. Giuliante expressed gratitude for the support she received throughout her career, particularly from a mentor named Ellen, who assisted her through various situations, including unexpected ones.
“She was with me through thick and thin,” Giuliante stated. “The day I went back to work [after 9/11], we were in a new office because our office had been destroyed. I went into labor unexpectedly at the office, and Ellen was even my labor and delivery coach.”
“That’s a real mentor, really just pounding the table for me throughout my career,” she continued. Giuliante highlighted the importance of sponsors in addition to mentors, noting that sponsors who “speak on your behalf,” “amplify your voice,” and “pound the table for you” are essential for women’s “successful collectively.”
Boniadi also shared that she finds strength, courage, and motivation in the women of Iran and their “everyday heroism.” “Mentorhsip comes in many different forms—sometimes it’s having conversations with people, women in Iran in particular, who, on a daily basis, risk their lives for a better tomorrow,” she said. “To me, they are my mentors; they’re teaching me every day.”
Conniff concluded the discussion by asking the panelists the theme of their ideal masterclass. Giuliante encouraged everyone to “own your greatness,” and to empower others to do the same: “pull them up behind you, and we will all be collectively more successful,” she said. Boniadi stressed the importance of leading with love and solutions-oriented advocacy, advising, “Sometimes you’re invited to the table; sometimes, you have to knock down the doors and get to the table.” Nguyen shared that the most valuable lesson on courage she received came from her , a boat refugee from Vietnam.
“She swam so I can fly, crossed the ocean so I can touch the sky,” Nguyen explained. “She was caught in a tidal wave storm, and her boat was sinking. And during the storm, another big ship came and decided to rescue them, but they only threw one rope, and each refugee had to climb this rope in the storm. She said that if you let go, then the ocean would swallow you. She said the only way she was able to climb was by doing it one hand at a time—to not think of the entire rope, but just to have courage for the next, and the next, and the next.”
“The lesson from that is that you don’t have to have bravery and courage for your entire journey; you just need it for the next step, and the next step, and the next,” Nguyen concluded.
The Women of the Year Leadership Forum was presented by Amazon, Booking.com, Chase, Deloitte, the American Heart Association, and Toyota.
