A "Must Attend" Symposium for Women in Engineering

by Alex A. Kecskes

Women engineers are urged to attend MIT's critically important symposium--Leaders in Science and Engineering: The Women of MIT, scheduled for March 28 and 29, 2011 at the Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Avenue.

This symposium will engage present students and postdocs, junior and senior faculty, alumni, and friends of MIT. It will focus on the landmark 1996 and 1999 reports of the Faculty Committees on Women in Science and their subsequent impact inside and beyond MIT.

The 1996 and 1999 reports on women faculty in science revealed subtle and pervasive gender discrimination in MIT's School of Science as well as in academic science. The reports underscored the need for significant efforts at MIT and elsewhere to correct gender inequities. This led to the introduction of numerous changes to improve the climate and status of women engineering faculty. Many universities have emulated MIT’s approach.

Outstanding women faculty will speak on key issues, including historical and current assessment of women in science and engineering. Panel discussions will address effective practices for promoting gender equity and challenges ahead. Actress and MIT alumna Gioia De Cari will give an evening performance on campus of her play, Truth Values: One Girl’s Romp through MIT’s Math Maze. The symposium will close with a reception hosted by MIT's Society of Women Engineers (SWE), an undergraduate student group.

The symposium seeks to recognize both individual and institutional leadership in the success of women in science and engineering. The success of MIT's many outstanding women faculty will be highlighted to encourage more women to enter STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. The program will feature the personal perspectives of several accomplished speakers and their exciting research.

For an additional perspective, check out this video:

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