Women in Chemical Engineering
@ University of Washington
WChE-UW General Meeting
February 12, 2016
Some Sobering Statistics
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In 2013-2014:
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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]
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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
Women in ChemE
Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau
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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
Meeting Agenda
● Officer Introductions
● CheMentoring Circles
● Marketing Committee recruitment
● Upcoming events
● WChE Resources & Media
● Panels/Guest speakers brainstorm
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)
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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
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Bi-weekly newsletter
○ First one sent out on February 1st
■ Get on the list by becoming a member! http://eepurl.
com/bPeVx9
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Header: Links to website and social media, contact info, mission
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Body: announcements, get involved, events (less detailed than website)
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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