Have you thought about your next leadership role in SWE? Are you ready for the next level of challenge, development, responsibility, and reward? Do you want to make a difference in the Society and affect change?

The positions of Region Collegiate Representative (RCR) and Region Collegiate Communications Editor (RCCE) offer outstanding opportunities to interact with professional women, while developing leadership attributes. Both positions are great stepping stones for becoming actively involved in the society at the professional level. It is a also a great opportunity to learn how both the region and national levels work. The RCR is responsible to represent area collegiate members’ interests among national leaders, participate in strategic discussions with the other members of the Council of Representatives, and provide direction to the national Society. The RCCE is responsible for communicating important SWE events and best practices by publishing the region newsletter for collegiate members.

Some of the RCR duties include:

• Communicate to the region leadership as the collegiate member’s voice on the Region Council.
• Attend Regional & Annual Conference
• Facilitate Region Collegiate Meetings
• Maintain constant and consistent contact with Governor and RCR/RCCE Coordinator
• Serve on the Region Collegiate Team
• Provide input to region blog

RCCE duties include:

• Communicate to the region leadership as the collegiate member’s voice on the SWE.
• Attend Regional & Annual Conference
• Help facilitate Region Collegiate Meetings
• Maintain constant and consistent contact with Governor and RCR/RCCE Coordinator
• Serve on the Region Collegiate Team
• Maintain the region blog

FY10 Election Timeline:

• Call for Applicants: Tuesday, January 20
• Applications Due: Friday, February 8
• Candidates Presented: Monday, March 1
• Voting Begins: Monday, March 1
• Voting Ends: Monday, March 15
• Winners Announced: Monday, April 5

Questions? Email your friendly neighborhood RCR (rcr-f@swe.org) and RCCE (rcce-f@swe.org).

The Region Collegiate Representatives(RCRs) and Region Collegiate Communications Editors(RCCEs) represent the collegiate voice on the SWE region level which is then transferred to all the way up to SWE headquarters.

As a team we are working to make your SWE experience even better but we need your help! We would like to know some information about your SWE experience.

SWE RCRs and RCCEs

One of the best ways to retain memembership is to have a close personal connection with your members. This Hot Topic is a list of some ideas I have that might help you make that connection. Feel free to share any others that work for your section, as well!

• Remember names! It’s surprising how something so little can mean and do so much.
• Make sure your officers talk to all the members, not just to each other, or the ones they know well.
• Have smaller activities and meetings, in addition to general body meetings, so members can get to know each other on a more personal setting.
• Consider establishing a big-little program that keeps the freshman engaged by giving them an upperclassmen mentor in SWE.
• Have socials devoted to bonding, which have less business and professional stuff, just to have fun with each other.
• Smile and say hi to your fellow SWE members, even if you’re just passing them in the halls.
• Get SWE merchandise, such as tshirts, hoodies, or sweatpants, and have everyone wear them on the same day.

The overall idea: make sure you focus on the personal needs of your members, in addition to the professional ones!

As pioneers, innovators, leaders, and mentors, our accomplishments are diverse and our dreams have no limits. We are proud of our members’ many achievements and celebrate them through the SWE Awards Program. 

During the Region F meeting at WE09, we decided one of our goals was going to be having every section apply for at least one award. You can learn everything about the awards and competitions SWE offers on the swe website. Applying for awards is not as hard or as time consuming as you think! The website award only requires that you submit you website url, and I know that several sections in Region F have amazing websites! So do it, do it, do it!

Also, the deadlines have a tendency to sneak up on you because many of them are during the summer, so mark your calendars now, so you remember later.

Individual Awards – DUE MARCH 31, 2010

Email submissions to: awards@swe.org, Awards packets will be available to download after Dec 31

• Outstanding Collegiate Member Award 
• Outstanding Faculty Advisor
• Outstanding SWE Counselor

Section Awards – DUE JULY 1, 2010

Email submissions to: awards@swe.org

• Communications Awards: Newsletter, Website, Public Relations Program
• Membership Awards: Collegiate Transition, Region Membership, Membership Retention, Membership Recruitment
• Multicultural Awards: Boeing Company Multicultural Award
• Outreach Awards: Event/Series Program, Girl Scout, Corning Incentive
• Professional Development Awards: Program, Event, Series, Media
• SWE History Award

Outstanding Collegiate Section Award – DUE MARCH 31, 2010

Email submissions to: awards@swe.org

• Any Collegiate Section attaining the minimum levels of participation will be recognized with a certificate or a plaque.
• Sections chartered or reactivated within the past two years can compete for the Society Outstanding New Collegiate Section

Competitions

• Collegiate Technical Poster Competition – DUE JUNE 15, 2010: emphasizes ability to deliver outstanding visual presentations, questions: postercompetition@swe.org
• Collegiate Technical Poster Competition – DUE JUNE 15, 2010: emphasizes the importance of teamwork and interface with industry in engineering educational process, questions: Terri Morse

We wanted to let you guys know that there’s a new option for National SWE Membership. It’s called C2C (College to Career) and basically means you pay $50 for membership in SWE for the rest of your college years, plus one year after that! It’s a great way to save money and show your commitment to SWE. For more information on this great option, click here.

Ever taken a look at the Society’s Bylaws? Do you know SWE’s vision? SWE’s tagline? How would describe SWE to someone who has never heard of the organization?

Knowing the Society’s vision and goals can help you formulate goals for your section as well as help you understand how you fit into the bigger picture. If you’ve never looked at the Society’s bylaws, I encourage you to take a glance at them. Below I’ve listed some information about the Society and encourage you to read it over.

SWE’s TagLine: Aspire, Advance, Achieve

SWE’s Mission (Adopted in 1986)

• Stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders,
• Expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and
• Demonstrate the value of diversity

SWE’s Objectives (Adopted in 1950)

• Inform young women, their parents, counselors and the general public of the qualifications and achievements of women engineers and the opportunities open to them
• Assist women in readying themselves for a return to active work after temporary retirement
• Serve as a center of information on women in engineering
• Encourage women engineers to attain high levels of education and professional achievement

SWE’s Strategic Priorities (The Society’s 3 –5 Year Planning Horizon Strategies)

• Growing the Profession (Outreach): There is an increase in women choosing to enter the engineering and technology profession.
• Professional Excellence: Women in engineering and technology excel professionally, and their achievements are showcased and valued.
• Industry Catalyst: SWE is a catalyst for changing the professional climate to enable women in engineering and technology to excel.
• Inclusive Global Community: Women in Engineering and Technology and SWE stakeholdersfind value in SWE as a diverse, inclusive, global community.

SWE’s Values

• Integrity: We aspire to the highest level of ethical behavior as evidenced by honesty and dignity in our personal and professional relationships and responsibilities.
• Inclusive Environment: We embrace diversityin its broadest interpretation and commit to creating an inclusive environment for all our members and stakeholders. We value the contributions of a diverse membership, which enables SWE to achieve its full potential.
• Mutual Support: We provide an organization that fosters mentoring, and the development of professional and personal networks.
• Professional Excellence: We conduct our activities in a professional manner, demonstrating and demanding the highest standards of business practices.
• Trust: We share a common definition of success, with open, transparent access to common information, building mutual respect and confidence in the competence of those with whom we lead, serve and partner with.

Section Bylaws

Following the revision of the Society’s bylaws a number of years ago, new templates for section (professional and collegiate) bylaws were developed. ALL sections are expected to adopt new bylaws based on the respective template.

Sections are expected to prepare a revision of their bylaws, by using the template and adjusting as appropriate for their section-specific issues within the guidelines of the template and submitting them for review. (A bylaws revision is a complete replacement of the existing bylaws with a new set, rather than processing amendments. The existing bylaws procedure for amendments must be followed in approving the revision.) Although this process appears cumbersome, it offers an opportunity for sections to review their bylaws and ensure that the bylaws really reflect how the section operates. See the powerpoint “Collegiate Section Bylaws Approval Status” for the latest status on approval of collegiate section bylaws.

You can also download a copy of the Collegiate Section Bylaws Template here: Collegiate Section Bylaws Template.

Hello Region F SWE members!

This is your Collegiate Senator, Katherine Kuan. The Society has come up with a proposed position paper on public policy for equal opportunity and affirmative action. The paper will be voted on by the Senate at the October Annual Conference.

As SWE members, it’s important to provide feedback to us on the direction you feel the Society should head in. This paper will guide our interactions with the federal policymakers, so this has tremendous potential for impact on your careers as female engineers.

Please post comments about your thoughts on the content below (especially about the “Recommendations” section). Thanks so much!

Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action

The Society of Women Engineers supports policies and legislation that strengthen the U.S. STEM workforce by ensuring equal opportunity for women in STEM education and careers.

Recommendations

To ensure a strong STEM workforce, the Society of Women Engineers supports equal opportunity for women in engineering education and careers and offers the following recommendations:

• Policy makers should enforce existing laws and, when necessary, enact additional legislation outlawing discrimination on the basis of sex in employment, pay, and education to promote equal opportunity in the preparation for and pursuit of STEM careers.
• Employers should scrutinize hiring procedures and career progress of male and female employees in order to identify and mitigate inequities.  Personnel policies and procedures should provide all employees the opportunity to achieve their career goals and balance the demands of work and personal life.
• Voters and state legislatures should continue to support programs that ensure equal opportunity for women and men to pursue STEM education and careers, including where necessary affirmative action programs to address existing inequities.

BACKGROUND:

Importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) to the U.S. Economy

Scientific and technical innovation form the cornerstone of economic growth in the United States and comprise a fundamental component of our quality of life and our national security, as recognized by the National Academies and the U.S. Congress. (Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future, NAP, 2007; America Competes Act, PL-110-69).

Despite Progress, Women Continue to be Underrepresented in STEM

A strong science and engineering workforce is critical for the nation’s well-being, but despite many years of effort by the Society of Women Engineers and others, women remain significantly underrepresented in the STEM fields.  While the proportion of women earning degrees in engineering has climbed from less than 1% in the early 1970s to close to 20% today, that percentage has remained constant for the past decade.  In 2007, women accounted for nearly half (46.4%) of all workers in the U.S., and constituted 37% of the science and engineering workforce, but only 13.5% of engineers. (BEST, 2004; CPST, 2008)

Retention of Women is Still an Issue

Even as the number of women earning degrees in engineering has increased over the past decades, their participation in the workforce remains low.  According to data from SWE’s 2005 survey of engineering graduates and the National Science Foundation’s SESTAT database, women are more likely than men to leave engineering as their careers progress (Frehill, 2007a).  The 2005 SWE survey also reveals that women are less likely than men to believe that female and male employees performing the same job are treated equally (39% of women vs. 71% of men), and more likely than men to be personally aware of instances where women or minorities were overlooked for career opportunities (23% of women vs. 3% of men) (Frehill, 2007b).  A recent report from the National Academies concluded that “women are very likely to face discrimination in every field of science and engineering.” (Beyond Bias and Barriers, 2007) The report cites research that shows how both men and women evaluate skills, qualifications, and accomplishments differently based on gender.  While explicit discrimination may be less prevalent than in the past, even small disadvantages can accumulate over the course of a career to result in very different outcomes for men and women (Valian, 1998).

Legal Background

The term “affirmative action” was used for the first time in 1961 in President John F. Kennedy’s Executive Order (E.O.) 10925,which instructed federal contractors to take “affirmative action to ensure that applicants are …treated … without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.”  President Lyndon B. Johnson used the phrase again in 1965 in E.O. 11246, which required all government contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to expand job opportunities for minorities, later expanded to include all women (not just minority women) in 1967.

Current Status

Federal regulations define affirmative action as “…those actions appropriate to overcome the effects of past or present practices, policies, or other barriers to equal employment opportunity.” (29 CFR 1608.1)  Implementation of these regulations with regard to such activities as employment and college admissions has been the subject of numerous court decisions, most recently the Grutter and Gratz cases involving the University of Michigan in 2003.  Opponents of affirmative action assert that it creates a system of preferences or quotas, requiring the selection of less qualified individuals over more qualified individuals of another race or gender.  These opponents have spearheaded ballot initiatives in several states to ban such preferences in public employment, education and contracting.  California (1996), Washington (1998), Michigan (2006) and Nebraska (2008) voters approved such measures.  Colorado (2008) voters narrowly rejected the proposal, and the proposal failed to make the ballots in several states in 2008.  Nevertheless, federal laws such as Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the aforementioned Executive Orders remain in effect and supersede state law on the matter of providing equal opportunity through, where necessary, affirmative action aimed at increasing the representation of women and minorities in employment, education, and contracting.

References

America Competes Act, PL-110-69

Building Engineering and Science Talent (2004). The Talent Imperative: Diversifying America’s Science and Engineering Workforce (http://www.bestworkforce.org/PDFdocs/BESTTalentImperative_FullReport.pdf)

Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (2008). Professional Women and Minorities. Washington DC.

Committee on Maximizing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering (2007). Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, National Academies Press, Washington DC (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11741)

Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century: An Agenda for American Science and Technology (2007). Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. National Academies Press. Washington DC. (http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11463)

Frehill, L. (2007a). “The Society of Women Engineers National Survey about Engineering: Are Women More or Less Likely Than Men to Be Retained in Engineering after College?” SWE Magazine 53(4): 22-25.

Frehill, L. (2007b). “The Society of Women Engineers National Survey about Engineering: Is the Engineering Workplace ‘Warming’ for Women?” SWE Magazine 53(5): 16-20.

Valian, V. (1998). Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women. MIT Press. Cambridge MA.

For more information

AAUW: http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/affirmativeaction.cfm

National Partnership for Women and Families: http://www.nationalpartnership.org/site/DocServer/AffirmativeActionFacts.pdf?docID=861

AAAS: http://www.aaas.org/standingourground/PDFs/4_Legal_Primer.pdf

September is a month inherently linked with the start of school. And as students flood back onto campus, we ponder how to attract them to SWE, and how to keep them around after that. Here’s a few tips and ideas I’ve found works well.

Attracting Membership

• Free food! Nothing attracts people to an event quite like free food. In addition to giving them a free meal, this also makes it time efficient because people can listen to you and eat at the same time.
• Have current exec and other members present at the meeting to talk to potential new members. This makes people feel like your chapter is active and welcoming, which it is!
• Publicity! This seems obvious, but I wanted to emphasize that people cannot come to events that they don’t know about. Email, posters, word of mouth. Make sure that the campus knows when your SWE events are.

Retaining

• Offer a way for freshman to get involved. Many collegiate club leadership positions run from spring to the next spring (such as Jan to Jan), instead of fall to spring. This makes it difficult for the new freshman to get involved right off the bat, when they are usually the most excited about clubs and opportunities. Consider establishing a “Freshman Representative” type position to get new, eager freshman involved at the exec level right off the bat.
• Establish a big-little program that links the freshmen to SWE upperclassmen. This upperclassmen can encourage the freshman to come to events, and show her around and introduce her to new people at the events.
• Be consistent in your meeting days and times. That way, SWE will naturally establish itself as a part of people’s weekly schedules, instead of a random aberration that throws that week off.

Any other ideas or tips that worked well for your chapter? Let us know in the comments!

Reminder!!!

Section presidents, your first quarterly report is due Tuesday, August 25th!

I realize that we’re all getting ready to go back to school, but please download and fill out this quarterly report template. For the first quarterly report, please include your section’s leadership roster, goals for the upcoming year, and your section’s contact info/swe email and website address.

Best wishes from your RCR,

Rachael