Gabriela Basel
Gabriela is a second year PhD student in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. She is the FY21 Affinity Group Liaison on the GradSWE Diversity and Inclusion Team
Here is a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about SWE’s Affinity Groups (AGs)!
What are the SWE Affinity Groups?
The SWE Affinity Groups mission is to bring together communities that share similar interests and backgrounds that support the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) strategic goals of SWE. The AGs framework includes Building Community, Professional Development and Member Empowerment.
Currently, AGs are split into “Diversity and Inclusion” and “Business Interest” groups:
Diversity and Inclusion:
- African-American
- Latinos
- LGBTQ+ and Allies
- Asian Connections
- Indigenous Peoples
- HeForSWE
Business Interests:
- Women in Government
- Small Business
- Entrepreneurs
- Global Women Engineers
- Late Career & Retiree
On the official homepage for Affinity Groups on the SWE website, you can find individual links to Facebook pages for each AG. If you have an interest you want to build community around but don’t see represented, check out this article about forming a new affinity group!
Why should I join an AG?
SWE is a huge organization and it can often be difficult to connect with others in a virtual setting. Affinity Groups create a great starting point where you can find others who share your interests! While the Diversity and Inclusion AGs are focused around building community and supporting people of specific identities, anyone is welcome to join any AG as an ally of the community. In the Business Interests AGs, you can join as a member of the community (a woman working in government, for example), or just as someone hoping to learn more about a particular field!
Currently, I serve as the Collegiate Engagement Lead of the Latinos AG. My experience has been incredible -- I get to meet other Latino-identifying engineers from around the world and at all different parts of their career paths. Most AGs regularly hold virtual events to promote professional development or community-building. And you can join at any time! Every AG is always happy to have new members. If you’re interested in being involved with recruitment and event planning in a particular AG, the Affinity Group leads are always happy to have more involvement. By reaching out to administrators of the AG facebook pages, you can easily get involved in AG leadership.
How do I join an AG?
Joining an AG is as easy as applying to join the facebook group, and approval is automatic if you have a SWE membership. Non-members can also be approved, but you should reach out to the administrators of the facebook page if you are considering this.
We know that not everybody has a facebook, so SWE is currently working to make AGs more inclusive. Many of the AGs have linktrees and instagram accounts which you can access by visiting the “About” page on their facebook group. This can be done even if you don’t have a facebook account.
AGs were formed in just the last few years to foster community among SWE members. A website dedicated to AGs with resources, contacts, and mailing lists is currently in the works! Watch your newsletters for information on when this website goes public. We hope this will make it even easier to join an AG and connect with others who share your interests.
Have any other questions about AGs? Feel free to reach out to me if you want more information about the collegiate experience in AGs. You can also email affinitygroups@swe.org for more information.
