(Royalty-free image courtesy of Pixabay, at pixabay.com.)

 

Today, women in professional fields still experience discrimination.   Harassment is still a reality.   And traditional corporate "sensitivity training" doesn't appear to be making much of a difference.

Electrical engineer Jocelyn Tan has come up with a solution--through virtual reality.  

Jocelyn is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bay Area startup SISU.  Currently, Jocelyn and her team are developing a virtual reality game by the same name.

SISU's mission: to help professional women achieve their goals without facing inappropriate workplace situations.   Employee conflicts, discrimination, workplace politics, harassment and various other issues are all among the scenarios the new game will cover.

But this isn't a "game" in the sense of being purely for entertainment.   Instead, it's geared it towards corporate clients who can now put their employees into VR simulations as part of on-the-job training.  In the process, participants get to play the "roles" of various characters and work together towards resolving common workplace conflicts.

Now, why the name?  Jocelyn's website explains that "Sisu" is a Finnish word, meaning, "hope in the face of adversity".    SISU's platform includes both actual cases from women in professional fields, and resources from a number of field experts.

Expect to see the release of the VR version of SISU in 2020.  Meanwhile, Jocelyn says, a prototype should be available later this year.

Jocelyn talked about her background, how she came to create SISU and how the game works.
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you will hear:

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How Jocelyn first discovered  her passion for engineering;

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How her own experiences led her to create a startup with the mission of helping other professional women;

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The process involved in creating the VR game, SISU;

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How players can participate in the game;

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Some of the options available to players in a scenario;

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A timeline when Jocelyn expects SISU to be available in its VR version, for the general public;

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Her future goals for SISU;

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Some of Jocelyn's favorite resources for women encountering inappropriate situations in the workplace;

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AND a VR resource for makers!

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How Jocelyn finds her talent in the arts helpful in her engineering career, and vice versa.