Advocacy
A Legacy of Advocacy
The Society’s stance has evolved from largely avoiding public policy advocacy in its early years to actively advocating today for policies ensuring equal opportunities and advancement for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classrooms and careers.
Explore SWE's Legacy Below
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SWE’s original bylaws, adopted in 1952, expressly forbade the Society from commenting on political or policy issues to protect the Society’s tax-exempt status as well as to avoid being seen as radical during the country’s anti-communist Red Scare in the 1950s.
SWE endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1973, believing that women’s place in engineering was tied to their place in American society. The primary provision of the amendment read: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”
The Society was reintroduced to the public policy sphere in 1994, when members were invited to Capitol Hill to testify on the findings of SWE’s “National Survey on Women and Men Engineers.”


Through a partnership with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, SWE hired a Washington representative in 2005 to advocate on Capitol Hill for policies related to technological literacy, gender equity in STEM fields, and Title IX’s application to STEM education.

Since 2008, the Society has empowered members to advocate for policies supporting a vibrant and inclusive STEM workforce by sharing their personal experiences and SWE’s groundbreaking research with legislators.
