Women underrepresented in engineering celebrate local efforts to close the gap

The Memphis chapter of the Society of Women Engineers is hosting its first public event after receiving its charter in April 2016.

The Society of Women Engineers is an international organization that provides opportunities and resources for women in engineering, including scholarships for students, STEM outreach for K-12 girls, professional development events and public policy advocacy.

The Memphis chapter was founded by 53 local companies and organizations, including Christian Brothers University, City of Memphis, FedEx, Medtronic, Smith and Nephew, University of Memphis, and Wright Medical.

“Being a woman in engineering is both tremendously rewarding by improving the quality of life for millions of people around the world, and at other times, very frustrating,” said Memphis chapter president Dr. Sharon Rozzi.

“Women are underrepresented in engineering leadership despite progress in earning engineering degrees.  Studies have shown that women face obstacles that include gender bias, hostile cultures, shortage of mentors to provide career guidance, and 24/7 work pressures that make balancing home life challenging,” she added.

Per the National Science Foundation, women with college degrees remain underrepresented in Science & Engineering occupations, although less so than in the past. Except in computer/mathematical sciences, women have increased their particiation in each broad occupational group since the early 1990s.  In engineering, women increased their presence in the engineering workforce from 9 percent in 1993 to 13 percent in 2010.

This is as the field of engineering grows overall. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that, from 2010 to 2020, employment in Science & Engineering occupations will grow by 18.7 percent compared to 14.3 percent for all occupations.

Rizzo thinks the SWE’s work can help to close that gap and empower women starting from a young age to pursue well-paying STEM fields with good outlooks.
“SWE’s mission is to stimulate women to achieve their 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,” said Rizzo.
 
The inaugural event, “Celebrate SWE Memphis” is Thursday, February 23, 2017 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Double Tree in East Memphis.
Event speakers include past SWE President Colleen Layman and Medtronic VP of Research & Development Tommy Carls. All proceeds from the event will support SWE’s K-12 STEM outreach and member professional development.