SWE, ASME present Roundtable on Gender Equity

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and ASME joined forces in February to present a roundtable discussion on gender equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

SWE established the Roundtable on Gender Equity in STEM fields as an opportunity for the organization to focus on the overall issue of gender equity with the broader STEM community, as well as educate participants on how Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 — the first comprehensive federal law to prohibit sex discrimination against students and employees of educational institutions — applies to STEM fields.

Betty Shanahan, executive director and CEO of the Society of Women Engineers

Through an agreement between the two organizations, ASME has been representing SWE in Washington since September 2005 on the issues of Title IX's application to STEM fields and the overall issue of strengthening STEM education in America's schools. Melissa Carl, ASME Government Relations representative, serves as SWE's Washington representative, and organized the roundtable for SWE. Marina Stenos, manager of the ASME Center for Public Awareness, also attended on behalf of ASME.

Thirty-eight representatives from 22 science and engineering professional organizations and women's groups attended the meeting, which was held at the National Academy of Engineering in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28.

Twenty-two organizations took part in the roundtable discussion.

Alice Rivlin of the Brookings Institution kicked off the event by giving attendees an overview of the recent National Academy report on the underrepresentation of women in academic science and engineering, "Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering."

Next, Cathy Pieronek of SWE gave an overview of how Title IX applies to STEM fields and can be used as a tool in gender equity.

Jocelyn Samuels of the National Women's Law Center then discussed possible explanations of why women are underrepresented in academic science and engineering and what actions schools, federal agencies, and Congress could take to eliminate gender bias. Attendees concluded the meeting by hearing a congressional perspective on the issue of gender equity in STEM, and then explored potential opportunities for working together on this issue.

For the past two years, ASME has been collaborating with SWE on public policy issues, such as strengthening STEM education in America's schools and the application of Title IX to STEM fields.

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