National Engineers Week Foundation Sponsors Introduce
A Girl To Engineering Day
Women in business have been fighting to crack the “glass ceiling”
for generations and while they have made great strides to level the
professional playing field overall, one area in which they are still
most seriously underrepresented is engineering. Today, only 20% of all
undergraduate engineering students are women. That’s a statistic
the National Engineers Week Foundation, the largest nonprofit organization
dedicated to inspire young people to explore careers in engineering,
works to change.
Through two annual initiatives—Introduce a Girl to Engineering
Day and Global Marathon For, By and About Women in Engineering—Engineers
Week helps to inspire and empower future female engineers and ultimately
change the landscape of engineering for young women from around the
world. The next Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day takes place on February
18, 2010. The day encompasses awareness, outreach, and hands-on activities
designed to encourage young women to choose engineering as a career.
Events are held at educational institutions, corporations, libraries,
and other locations throughout the country. Last year some of the events
included a day of activities in Atlanta for middle-school girls sponsored
by the Georgia Engineering Alliance; ExxonMobil events for girls at
14 of its locations; and student visits to Google offices nationwide.
Global Marathon For, By and About Women in Engineering incorporates
free Webinars and chat sessions that provide participants with the opportunity
for virtual dialogue with expert speakers and mentors from six continents
on topics including innovation, finding fun in technology, career choices,
precollege outreach, leadership skills, and more. The fifth annual live
24-hour world Webcast and teleconference runs continuously from noon
on Wednesday, March 10 through March 11, 2010 (EDT).
The National Engineers Week Foundation’s mission is to reach out
to, and cultivate current and future generations of engineering talent.
Engineers Week recognizes that to prepare for the future American resources
must work together because engineers will be an increasingly vital and
invaluable resource. The country will depend on them to help solve its
most urgent problems, such as global climate change, energy, and increased
food production. There is enormous potential for the girls of today
to become the engineering leaders of tomorrow. National Engineers Week
Foundation helps those girls to understand that it is within their grasp
to seize this opportunity—and change the world.
The foundation, a formal coalition of more than 150 professional societies,
major corporations, and government agencies, is dedicated to ensure
a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing
understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers
among young students and by promoting precollege literacy in math and
science. Engineers Week also raises public understanding and appreciation
of engineers' contributions to society. Founded in 1951, it is among
the oldest of America’s professional outreach efforts. For more
information, visit www.eweek.org.
Leslie Collins,
Executive Director, National Engineers Week Foundation
Leslie Collins is the executive director of the National Engineers Week
Foundation. She is responsible for development and stewardship of a
coalition comprised of more than 150 corporate, government, engineering
society, education, and diversity partners, representing more than 1.5
million engineers and engineering students.
Collins initiated the DiscoverE K-12 volunteer program for Engineers
Week 1990, National Engineers Week Future City Competition in 1993,
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day in 2001, Global Marathon For, By
and About Women in Engineering in 2005, and the foundation’s Diversity
Council in 2008. Collins is also responsible for all resources and materials
and all programs for the organization.
Collins began her career in public relations at the American Gas Association.
Later, she became the public relations director for the National Society
of Professional Engineers (NSPE). Collins is a graduate of Boston College
and attended graduate school at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.
Collins encourages women engineers and students to visit the National
Engineers Week Foundation Website to mobilize to help young girls learn
to consider a career in engineering. “Young girls need to know
that there are engineers who look like they do,” Collins notes.
“We need to outreach to students from kindergarten through high
school. Students don’t know enough about engineering and the importance
of studying math and science. We want to educate them about such future
careers in the environment and energy, for example.”
Although most schools participate in the programs, Collins adds that
the correct messages need to be sent to young girls about a future career
in engineering. “We need to market this profession in an appropriate
way,” Collins remarks. “We want to be realistic to advise
students about the obstacles they need to overcome to become an engineer
in a global marketplace. We also have a diversity council that includes
such organizations as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
and the National Society of Black Engineers. We want to reach out to
all cultures and diverse populations. We can all work together to nurture
an engineering workplace with women as a major resource.”
