Public Policy

SWE Public Policy initiatives support the Society’s mission by engaging our members in policy issues that impact the advancement of women in engineering. Our goals are to provide SWE members with timely information and tools to enhance their understanding of the issues and encourage volunteer participation at the federal level. We also aim to educate other professional societies and policymakers on applying Title IX to STEM fields.

Take Action & Additional Resources

SWE Research Site

All Together Advocacy Section

Legislative Action Center

Get Text Alerts Stay informed about SWE public policy through text alerts. Text SWE Public Policy to 56512 to sign up.

SWE Federal Bill Tracker

SWE Concentrates on the Following Four Areas Related to Public Policy:

New: SWE Official Transition Letter to Biden Administration

Strengthening America’s schools as presented in SWE’s general position statement, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education and the Need for a Technologically Literate Workforce.

How Title IX can be applied to STEM fields as presented in SWE’s general position statement, The Application of Title IX to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Fields.

Resource: How to Report Sexual Harassment under Title IX, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

Strengthen the STEM workforce by ensuring equal opportunity for women in STEM education and careers as stated in SWE’s general position statement, SWE General Position Statement on Equal Opportunity, and Affirmative Action.

Women need to integrate the various aspects of their lives to be successful on their own terms, for both career and family, as presented in SWE’s general position statement, The Need for Work & Life Integration Policies to Retain Women in STEM.

State Level Resources

SWE is pleased to link some external resources for advocacy at the state level:

State Policy and Advocacy Resources from the STEM Education Coalition
STEM Vital Signs (STEM stats by state) by the Education Commission of the States
Advocating for Science and STEM Education Created by BOSE Washington Partners for the National Science Teachers Association
Full Toolkit: STEM Learning Ecosystems Advocacy Toolkit from the STEM Education Coalition

Primary Public Policy Goals:

To educate SWE members about public policy happenings via posts on All Together, articles in SWE Magazine, and sessions at the Annual Conference.

To provide tools to participate in public policy.
To have SWE volunteers engaged in public policy at the federal level
To educate other professional societies and policymakers on how Title IX can be applied to STEM fields

SWE’s priority is to lead the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and diverse communities to engage SWE members, other professional societies, and policymakers on how Title IX can be applied to STEM fields.