The Society of Women Engineers (SWE)—a nonprofit educational and service organization that empowers women to succeed in the field of engineering—will conduct a Congressional outreach event March 2-3 in Washington, DC. According to the organizers, the event, centered on the theme of “Diversity and Inclusion Drive Innovation in STEM,” is designed to increase Congressional awareness of the need for and importance of increased diversity and inclusion in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce.
Recent research presented at the American Psychological Association’s Annual Convention revealed close to 40 percent of women with engineering degrees either never enter the field or leave the profession within a few years. The research, conducted by Nadya A. Fouad of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, found that women’s departure from the engineering field stems from deep-rooted work climate issues and a lack of advancement opportunities. To fix the problem, Fouad says change needs to begin from the top down, recognizing this is not simply a “women’s issue,” but one that needs system-wide changes.