IEEE Committee: Women in Engineering Allan Johnston NPSS Liaison November 3, 2008

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 We were successful in getting $500 to co-sponsor the Monday reception at the Pulsed Power Conference

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 all the telecons this year, as well as in an orientation telecon in January The June telecon was cancelled (not enough voting members were available This illustrates one of problems in dealing with the WIE: communication is very slow Two face-to-face meetings are normally held The first 2007 meeting was scheduled for March in Australia, but was cancelled (sanity prevailed!!) The meeting was rescheduled for 2007 in Orlando, in mid-August

Teleconferences in 2007 Four of the teleconferences have been cancelled, further limiting interaction within the WIE Committee

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 Recent Telecons Small funding requests ($300 to $600) for several conferences Session adopted for E-WEEK Global Marathon A WIE Magazine is being developed The organization currently has a monthly newsletter It is a major effort to develop a magazine It will likely not begin until 2008

Recommendations for NPSS Involvement Consider using some of our own funds to complement support to WIE functions at our conferences (subject to AdCom approval) More streamlined process Easier for conference chairman (as well as liaison) We have funds in reserve; the WIE committee is on a tight budget from IEEE HQ which makes it difficult to get approvals and limits their scope Encourage distribution of WIE information at the IEEE membership booth at our conferences We could underwrite half of the $25 WIE membership cost for those who sign up at our conferences Determine if we have potential IEEE Fellow candidates as well as IEEE members who could be elevated to Senior Member status

Suggestions and Lessons Learned The WIE committee is well established in academia, but not in the broader world of engineering The societies are in a better position to get WIE membership and participation from that segment We need a checklist for conference chairs if they intend to get WIE monetary sponsorship A point of contact is needed from the conference, not just through AdCom The WIE requires a report and other information after the event Shipping information is needed for brochures, etc. A lead time of about six months is needed to get funding approval The WIE liaison should have WIE brochures on hand for distribution to our conferences

Suggestions and Lessons Learned (cont.) The one-hour monthly telecons are not very effective, given the large number of people involved with the WIE The role of society liaisons is only loosely defined They are not within the core group that determines issues within the WIE Setting up periodic telecons (quarterly?) between the society liaisons may be a better way to establish the interaction between liaisons and the parent committee It would be useful to have a list of women who attend the various NPSS sponsored conferences to develop more interest in the WIE

Summary We have had some success this year in working with the WIE WIE sponsorship was obtained for the evening function at the Pulsed Power Conference We learned what the WIE expects when they sponsor an event WIE literature is available for distribution at our conferences The WIE communication process is slow and cumbersome, with no specific agenda for society liaisons It takes about 6 months to learn how the WIE functions It would be useful for the NPSS liaison to attend one of the two face to face WIE meetings, as well as to establish a communication channel between the society liaisons My AdCom position expires at the end of this year. I would be willing to serve as WIE chairman for one additional year, but this would have to be an appointed position