Women in Chemical Engineering @ University of Washington

WChE-UW General MeetingFebruary 12, 2016

Some Sobering Statistics● In 2013-2014:

○ 36.3% of Chem E Bachelor degrees, 33.6% of Chem E Masters Degrees, and 29.5% of Chem E Doctoral degrees were awarded to women. [1]

○ 18.1% of Tenured/Tenure-track Chem E faculty were women. [1]

● However, only 15.6% of Chemical Engineers in the workforce were women. [2]

● This is less than a 50% attrition rate! How can we get these numbers to align?○ Where WChE comes in!

[1]Yoder, B. L. Engineering by the Numbers. ASEE[2] Women in the Labor Force 2014 Report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau

● Created processes for producing high-octane gasoline

● Designed first commercial-scale plants for making penicillin

● First woman to receive a Ph.D. in Chem E from MIT

● First female member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)

● First woman to receive the Founders Award, the highest award presented by AIChE

Women in ChemE

● Officer Introductions

● CheMentoring Circles

● Marketing Committee recruitment

● Upcoming events

● WChE Resources & Media

● Panels/Guest speakers brainstorm

Meeting Agenda

Officer Introductions

● President: Kate Schultz

● Vice President: Emily Ruskowitz

● Secretary: Monica Esopi

● Treasurer: Amanda Levenson

● Webmaster: Paisley Zelaya

● Grad Outreach Coordinator: Elena Pandres

● Undergrad Outreach Coordinator: Binh Dang

CheMentoring Circles

● Small groups (4-6) of Chem Es at all education levels○ Male allies encouraged to join!

● Will begin at the start of Spring Quarter

● Will eventually be expanded to include mentors outside of UW

● Sign-up sheet available to anyone who hasn’t responded via email

Recruiting for Marketing Committee

Example positions

● Graphic designer○ Design our new logo competition -- deadline: Sunday 2/28○ Design flyers, newsletters, T-shirts & other fun stuff

● Website designer with experience in Wordpress● Club photographer(s)● Social media wizards

Upcoming Events

02/23: Women in Solar Energy 2nd Annual Multi-City Round Table● RSVP @ solwomen.org/round-table-2016● $15 suggested donation

02/26: Women’s Networking Session, ChemE Grad Recruitment● Need women grads there to answer questions● 1 or 2 undergrads to help set up and usher people to the

right room

03/25: Expanding Your Horizons (Graduate group)!● Focus on polymers● Groups of 5-6 worked well last year● Room for 1 more!

Upcoming Events

03/25: Expanding Your Horizons (Undergraduate group)

● Committee Leads: Angela and Belinda● Focus on Microfluidics● We are calling out for 2 volunteers● Please make sure that you’re available on March 25 (last friday

of spring break) ● Next Meeting: Feb 24

WChE Resources & Media

● Bi-weekly newsletter ○ First one sent out on February 1st

■ Get on the list by becoming a member! http://eepurl.com/bPeVx9

○ Header: Links to website and social media, contact info, mission

○ Body: announcements, get involved, events (less detailed than website)

○ Stay tuned for integration of event photos and fun facts/videos

WChE Resources & Media

● Website (in progress) will have lots of resources:○ Meeting minutes, constitution, officers, mission statement

○ Member list, faculty mentors, & alumni database

○ Calendar of events - both planned by WChE and by others

○ Affiliated organizations, e.g. RSOs at UW

○ Links to our social media pages

WChE Resources & Media

● Facebook group for members only

● Communication between members○ Event/meeting

reminders○ Share links/ideas

with each other

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wche.uw/

WChE Resources & Media

● Facebook page for the public

● Share news about our organization to others

https://www.facebook.com/WChEUW/

Panels & Guest Speakers

● We want these to cover topics you REALLY want to hear about○ Group discussion time!

● Example topics:○ Career/grad school advice○ Salary negotiation workshops○ Interview workshops○ How to deal with sexism/discrimination