IEEE Committee: Women in Engineering Allan Johnston NPS Liaison February 3, 2007

Overall Structure of the WIE within the IEEE The WIE reports directly to the IEEE Executive Committee One of 22 such committees Others include Awards, Fellow, Nominations and Strategic Planning The Executive Committee provides a limited budget for the WIE Committee Supports direct costs of 7 of the 10 voting members Also provides budget for certain activities Limited WIE functions at conferences and local chapters Typically $300 to $600 per function

Scopes of Interest Facilitate the development of programs and activities that promote the entry into and retention of women in engineering programs Promote IEEE membership and retention of IEEE women members Enhance the career advancement of women in the profession

Voting Members of the WIEC 10 voting members (all appointed for 3-year terms, except the student) Seven members appointed by the IEEE Board of Directors, including one student (one-year term) Three one-year appointments from organizational units (EAB, RAB and TAB) Organizational units must provide funding for travel and other costs of their appointed members The WEIC appoints one member to the IEEE Awards Board Voting member locations 6 from US 2 from Europe (France, Spain) One from Dubai One from Australia

WEIC Committee Structure WIE Committee 10 voting members Society Liaisons 10 Regional Coordinators Liaisons from: IEEE USA,EXCOM, Publication Services, Standards, and Awards There are also 136 Affinity Groups, located around the world

Society Liaisons Circuits and Systems Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Laser and Electro-Optic Society Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Oceanic Engineering Power Engineering Reliability Society Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Only 8 of the 39 societies have appointed liaisons

Committee Interaction Monthly conference calls (normally one hour) I participated in the first one (Jan. 25), as well as an orientation telecon the previous week There were 17 participants Two face-to-face meetings are normally held The first 2007 meeting was scheduled for March in Australia It has since been cancelled at the direction of the Board The present plan is to hold only one meeting, probably this fall in the US

Potential Ways to Support the WIE from the NPS Promote WIE membership at conferences The main emphasis of the committee is on recruiting students We have several prominent conferences that provide access to working professionals A travel display is available that could be shipped to conferences WIE information could be added to the IEEE membership booth that we have at most of our conferences Identify individuals for promotion to Senior and Fellow grades Conference chairs could identify potential candidates from registration information AdCom and Conference Committees could recommend candidates Identify prominent women in NPS as potential speakers for WIE functions

Membership Trends ~ 2.5% of IEEE members belong to the WIE About 1/3 are male ~2/3 are students Retaining students after graduation is a key problem

Work Discussed in the January Telecon Small funding requests ($300 to $600) for several conferences Receptions and luncheons Reports are required afterwards to judge effectiveness Session adopted for E-WEEK Global Marathon A WIE Magazine is being considered The organization currently has a monthly newsletter Elevation process for Senior Members Face-to-face meetings A great deal of relief over cancellation of Australia meeting IEEE Board wants funds to concentrate on more important issues, such as the WIE Magazine and chapter activities