New E-Book Marks Fifth Book in IEEE-USA's Famous Women in Engineering
Series
WASHINGTON, July 2, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- It is no secret that women represent a far smaller
percentage of the engineering workforce than their male
counterparts. While some 35% of environmental engineers are women,
they make up only 18% of chemical engineers, 10% of electrical
engineers, and 9% of mechanical engineers.
IEEE-USA
empowers female engineers, telling their stories and bridging the
gender gap in tech. #WomenInEngineering
According to DiscoverE's 2023 Executive Summary, when high
school students were asked how interested they were in pursuing a
career in engineering, female students' interest paled in
comparison to male students' interest. Why? Data shows that this is
largely due to the "concrete" image (and visible gender divide)
that exists in engineering fields today.
IEEE-USA is taking steps to
bridge that divide by amplifying female engineers' voices and
telling stories highlighting women's impact in the engineering
profession. As female students gain more exposure to women in
engineering roles, the chances increase that future generations
will wholeheartedly embrace this field.
IEEE-USA's recent June E-Book
features the story of Judith Resnick
- a member of the Challenger's crew. There have only been a few
times, when nearly everyone can remember where and how they heard
the news. For example, the end of WWII, the assassination of
President Kennedy and Martin Luther King,
Jr., Princess Diana's death,
and the Challenger disaster. The Challenger disaster was different
than the others, however; because, somewhat like 9/11 (just 15
years later), people didn't just hear the news — they saw it
happen. This story is about one member of the Challenger's crew —
Judith Resnik. She often said she
didn't want to be seen as a woman astronaut, or a Jewish astronaut,
just as an astronaut. So, this story is about Judith Resnik — engineer, astronaut and American
hero. This is the fifth book in IEEE-USA's award-winning "Famous Women Engineers in
History" series.
In the fourth book of the IEEE-USA's award-winning "Famous Women Engineers in
History" series, author Paul Lief Rosengren tells the story of
Kate Gleason, who did not conform to
the stereotypical image of women in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Gleason felt as comfortable in overalls as fancy dresses and hats;
became the first woman enrolled in Cornell
University's Engineering program; was chosen as the first
woman member of both the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
and the American Concrete Institute; and made a name for herself in
sales, business and engineering.
Friends with Susan B. Anthony,
Henry Leland, Lillian Gilbreth (a successful engineer and
businesswoman in her own right) and Henry
Ford, Gleason made her mark on the world in countless ways.
To name a few, after WWI, she used her wealth to help rebuild a
French town and generously supported her hometown, Rochester, N.Y. Her significant gift to the
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
led to the renaming of the engineering school in 1998 as "The Kate
Gleason School of Engineering." In 2003, RIT established "The Kate
Gleason Endowed Chair" given to a professor who, among other
qualities, motivates women in engineering activities and builds
"upon the tradition of Kate Gleason
as a role model for women in engineering." Gleason's legacy
embodies determination, hard work, and creativity, as praised by
former RIT President Albert
Simone.
Since 2014, IEEE-USA has
published 36 e-books on Women in Engineering — all written by IEEE
members, and each featuring a different woman's journey through
life and career in her own words. The individual books and
compilations can be found in the IEEE-USA Shop.
IEEE-USA also sponsors a number
of regional IEEE Women In Engineering (WIE) events across the
country — such as the International Leadership Summits — which
provide a forum for women students, researchers, educators,
engineers, leaders and innovators to discuss a wide variety of
relevant topics in the fields of engineering, science and
technology.
One such upcoming event is the IEEE WIE Forum USA East, to take place on 7-9 November 2024 in Stamford, CT. This year's event, themed "Own
Your Power Skills," focuses on developing leadership skills for all
career stages, featuring talks by successful leaders from IEEE
Northeast and demonstrations of emerging technologies to inspire
STEM outreach ideas. For IEEE-USA,
promoting and engaging in events like this is key to disseminating
the knowledge and information necessary to enhance the recruitment
and retention of women in technical fields worldwide.
Through July only! Use discount code FWEJUL24 and
get Compilation Vol.1 (Books 1-4) of the IEEE-USA Women in Engineering
series FREE (members AND non-members).
Also, be sure to explore the IEEE-USA Famous Women Engineers in
History series or the award-winning IEEE-USA Women in
Engineering series today. Both are FREE for IEEE
members.
About IEEE-USA:
IEEE-USA serves the public good
and promotes the careers and public policy interests of 150,000
engineering, computing and technology professionals who
are U.S. members of IEEE, the world's largest technical
professional organization. Visit us online at ieeeusa.org,
follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn,
or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Contact:
Leah Laird
Senior Marketing & Communications Specialist, IEEE-USA
202-530-8328 | l.laird@ieee.org
John Yaglenski
Director of Communications, IEEE-USA
202-530-8359 | j.yaglenski@ieee.org
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SOURCE IEEE-USA