Do you ever find yourself, going about your business, interacting with your peers when someone goes out of their way to remind you that you are a “lady engineer”?  Mind you, I didn’t say “engineer”, I said “lady engineer”.  Every so often I get a subtle or sometimes not so subtle reminder that I am not a full member of the club, that I am not like most.
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This past weekend the Super Bowl featured two commercials that brought this issue front and center.  The first was an ad for Volkswagen.  Volkswagen came under fire for not including women as engineers.  [WARNING:  DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS IN THIS VIDEO!] I read a lot of the discussion around this video and my favorite defense for the lack of women’s representation is that it accurately reflects the lack of women engineers in real life.  This one is my favorite because their argument for a lack of representation of women in a video where engineers magically sprout wings is that it is being realistic.  So women are a minority in engineering.  Did anyone not know that?

The other commercial that brought this issue into the spotlight was a commercial for GoldieBlox.   [WARNING:  DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS IN THIS VIDEO, ALSO YOU MAY CRY WHEN ALL THE LITTLE GIRLS SALUTE]  GoldieBlox is an engineering toy  marketed towards girls.  The company and founder are unapologetically critical of the toy industries gender ghettos.  Part of the drama surrounding this particular commercial is that a previous Goldie Blox commercial that went viral included a parody of the misogynistic Beastie Boys.  The Beastie Boys do not want their music used or parodied in commercials which caused a conflict. However, this commercial brought a refreshing change to some of the previous Super Bowl commercials that gain popularity through objectification of women.

Two commercials, one takeaway: there aren’t many women in engineering. Maybe Volkswagen hadn’t intended to make a point but their own bias showed the sad truth (not angel transmogrification).  GoldieBlox depicted a community of little girls demanding change, and possibly launching a rocket made of pink toys into space.  They are both a reality, women in engineering are a minority and, often, lack visibility but they also have communities that are striving for change.
I have one more link and then I will quite.  A young man in Toronto is contesting his failing grade in a class that he only attended once.  His reason is that the class was all women and he is shy.  Now I do not mean to be insensitive of people who social anxiety, it is difficult and those who suffer from it deserve help and consideration.  However, when it isn’t people or strangers that make a person nervous, it is only women, that isn’t social anxiety that is sexism.  It is based on  the belief that women aren’t people.  Raj on the Big Bang Theory has a similar problem.  He can’t talk to women because women are a special subset of being.  There are people and then there are women.

This may sound strange coming from someone who is actively involved in the Society of Women Engineers but I promise that I don’t do it because I love setting myself apart from my male peers, I do it because the engineering community hasn’t gotten to the part where they will stop separating me out.  Someday we won’t need GoldieBlox or SWE because Lego and every other engineering organization will be enough but right now they are not.

Also, SWE has pashminas as volunteer gifts at their national conference, I will stay for those.

The Region Conferences start this weekend in Houston with the Region C Conference! There are many great opportunities for graduate students to get involved at the region level, starting with attending the region conferences. Check out the January blog post here which gives the details for all region conferences as well as some sessions which may be of interest to graduate students.

The Region Conferences and dates are:

• Feb 7-9: Region C
• Feb 14-16: Region H
• Feb 21-23: Region G
• Feb 28 – Mar 2: Region B, Region D, Region I, Region J
• Mar 28-30: Region E
• Apr 4-6: Region F

A few updates to the original blog post: Region D will be hosting Rapid Fire research sessions and a “Succeeding in Graduate School” panel discussion. If you would like to participate in either, please see the information below.
Collegiates: Do you have research to present?

Graduate and undergraduate students are invited to present their STEM technical research at the Region D Conference Rapid Fire Research Session. Research from summer research opportunities through the dissertation level will be considered.  Selected participants will be asked to create a Powerpoint to accompany their 5-minute presentation.  To be select to present, please submit an abstract (max 250 words) by 2/17/14 via email to Stephanie Gillespie, Region D Graduate Student Representative at sgillespie6@gatech.edu.

Graduate Student Panelists Wanted for Region Conference
Current graduate students are needed to present on a panel discussion at region conference on the topic of succeeding in graduate school. Geared towards new graduate students and undergraduate students interested in graduate school, share your experiences on funding, advisors, graduate coursework, and other related topics. If interested please contact Stephanie Gillespie, Region D Graduate Student Representative at sgillespie6@gatech.edu .

Although we are many months from WE14 in LA, the conference planning is underway. Each year, Celebrate SWE! ends the conference with excellent food, awards, and entertainment. As the graduate community continues to grow, it is important to include our input in both the professional and social activities.  So we ask, what do you want to see at CelebrateSWE! this year? More graduate student awards? More inter-regional interaction?  Certain speakers? Open bar?

In the comment section, let us know how CelebrateSWE! can be improved. The responses will be relayed to the conference advisory board who are responsible for planning the conference. This will be a great opportunity for them to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Comments from original blog: 

1. Christella Chavez | February 4, 2014 at 2:32 pmWould like to see a graduate student reception for all current graduate students. Please invite PhD and Master’s students in all disciplines, along with recent graduates and current SWE PhDs. Perhaps we could also invite agencies that are looking for post docs?
   
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   • Rebecca Reck | February 4, 2014 at 2:38 pmChristella, I think this is a great idea. It seems more relaxed than trying to fit the WIA networking in prior to Celebrate SWE.
     
     
     
2. Elly | February 4, 2014 at 2:39 pmHi Christella,
   Thanks for your input! A graduate student reception is a great idea.
   
   
   
3. Rebecca Reck | February 6, 2014 at 6:02 pmI think both a keynote and a comedian was too much. With all of the awards and everything else on the program it seemed to go on forever this year. Several people were getting restless and chatty where I was sitting. Plus, the comedian wasn’t very good at WE13, I liked the one for WE12 better.
   I think the open bar should be at the graduate student reception.
   
   
4. Shivani Gupta | February 9, 2014 at 6:15 pmI agree with Rebecca– adding a keynote made the program far too long, and slowed down the night. After sitting through talks for three days, I think everyone would appreciate something more interactive or entertaining, and definitely more celebratory.
   Instead, their previous format of having more time with the comedian between awards worked well. It gave the night a more celebratory feel, without feeling long and drawn out, and gave people time to chit-chat at the table.
   Lastly– the graduate student reception is an awesome idea. The tricky part is finding an optimal time for it. I would vote for two hours on Friday evening, just after all programming ends. That will include plenty of time for mingling (with an open bar, definitely agree with that idea), and a little bit of formal programming where we can properly recognize all the graduate leaders, particularly the ones that aren’t formally mentioned at Celebrate SWE or any other official SWE event. We can even include our own awards. And, I also like the idea of inviting any companies/agencies who may be looking to hire anyone with advanced degrees. Perhaps one of them could even sponsor this reception!
   
   Reply
   • Chriss | February 9, 2014 at 10:06 pmLet’s make the recommendation and make it happen!
     By the way, we are implementing this at our region conference as well. We are having a graduate reception this year. Yay!
     Chriss
     
     
5. Elly | February 10, 2014 at 1:07 pmHi everyone,
   Thank you all for your thoughts. In my email to the board, I will detail the ideas you mentioned about the graduate student reception and relay the suggestions for CelebrateSWE. I really like the idea of acknowledging the outstanding graduate students in our own special ceremony and of course the open bar :)