Executive Director and CEO
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Each year, the SWE Magazine State of Women in Engineering issue offers a critical opportunity to pause, reassess, and reflect — not only on where women in engineering and technology stand today, but also on what forces are shaping their paths forward. This year’s issue arrives at a moment of both progress and pressure. It underscores the importance of data, advocacy, leadership, and community in advancing equity across STEM.
At the heart of this publication is the Society of Women Engineers’ 24th annual review of social science literature, a cornerstone of evidence-based understanding. As a whole, the research continues to show gender-based differences in encouragement, participation, support, retention, advancement, and recognition in STEM at a time when programs designed to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion are increasingly being challenged.
Public policy continues to play an outsized role in shaping the STEM ecosystem. This issue’s cover feature examines the impact of eliminated or uncertain funding for agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. These funding shifts influence what research is prioritized and who can conduct it. Cuts and delays disproportionately affect research focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, or DEIB, leading to fewer staff and research positions, stalled projects, and reduced data when greater understanding is urgently needed.
FY26 SWE President
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This issue also explores the definitions of mentors and sponsors, and why women in STEM need both. The article reinforces what many women experience firsthand: mentorship and sponsorship are not interchangeable. Mentors provide guidance, perspective, and skill development, while sponsors actively advocate on a person’s behalf, opening doors to opportunities, promotions, and visibility.
Four women engineering deans from institutions of higher learning across the United States share candid insights into what has changed for students and educators over the past year. Their reflections span the challenges posed by funding constraints and shifting priorities to the promise of new technologies emerging from their schools. The deans address the growing role of artificial intelligence in engineering education, describing thoughtful, values-driven strategies for integrating AI into curricula while maintaining academic integrity.
Complementing the deans’ voices is an expanded Deans List, which now includes all U.S. institutions of higher learning that award engineering degrees, not only those affiliated with the American Society for Engineering Education. This broader view better reflects the full landscape of women in academic leadership and highlights their increasing presence and influence.
For a global perspective, the Gender Scan returns with an updated comparative analysis of women in STEM in the United States and the European Union, building on 2021 findings. While cultural and structural differences remain, the data reveals mutual challenges encompassing advancement, workplace climate, and leadership representation — alongside promising practices that transcend borders. The analysis reinforces the need for global learning and collaboration.
Finally, this issue features an excerpt from Building Inclusive Scientific Communities and Leadership, a book examining how scientific professional societies advance DEIB. The featured chapter, co-authored by Roberta Rincon, Ph.D., SWE director of research and impact, and Nicola Mohan, SWE senior manager of DEIB, highlights SWE’s unwavering commitment to inclusion since its founding in 1950.
Together, these articles tell a powerful story: Progress in STEM is real, but it is neither guaranteed nor evenly distributed. Sustained commitment, informed action, and collective leadership remain essential to shaping a future where women in engineering and technology belong and thrive.
