Some engineering societies have a long history of involvement in efforts to increase the participation of women and minorities in engineering, while others have begun to address these issues more recently. The American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) convened the first action-focused summit on diversity in engineering on April 2-3, 2003. Engineering societies, whether or not they are members of AAES, were invited to send the appropriate volunteer and staff person who are leading the organization’s diversity programs to participate in the summit.
The goals of the first summit were to:
- Present the status and discuss engineering societies’ current and proposed initiatives in the areas of diversity and gender equity.
- Present the business community’s interest in facilitating connections between engineering society initiatives around diversity and gender equity for increased leverage and impact.
- Facilitate discussion to identify and explore common goals and potential linkages between existing initiatives as well as possibilities for future collaborative ventures.
A follow up meeting was held on September 17, 2003, to discuss a joint diversity policy statement and provide more information about and support for collaborative programs. The meeting was cut short by Hurricane Isabel, but plans for additional follow up are underway.
The events were hosted by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in Washington, DC, with financial support from the GE Foundation, Intel Foundation, Lucent Technologies, AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, and the National Science Foundation.