A Study Group Meeting to Develop a Joint U.S./Sweden Initiative to Improve Gender Equality in the Engineering and Technological Workforce

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network (WEPAN), under the auspices of the Global Alliance for Diversifying the Workforce in Science and Engineering, will hold a study group meeting to develop a joint United States/Sweden initiative to improve gender equality in the engineering and technological workforce. This grant supports planning, implementation, and documentation for the meeting.Partners in Sweden include the Swedish Embassy of the United States of America; WITEC -- Women in Science, Engineering and Technology; Encounter AB (a women-owned company to promote equal opportunity programs in Sweden); the National Agency for Higher Education (part of the Swedish Ministry for Education and Science); and the Swedish Ministry of Industry, Employment, and Communications.Specific goals and objectives for this project are to identify challenges, appropriate strategies, and partnering organizations to implement action plans to:(1) Foster pathways to leadership for women in the engineering and scientific technology workforce, during both the higher education and career years. (2) Better understand the gender perspective in the engineering design process.Participants will include representatives from higher education, business, government, and professional associations.Pre-meeting literature and Internet searches will be conducted to determine what is already known and what programs already exist in these two areas, in both the U.S. and Sweden. Short surveys will be sent to selected engineering schools, business, and professional associations to identify existing strategies in these two areas. Before the study group meeting, participants will receive a written report of the findings. Proceedings of the study group will be produced and posted on the web sites of both the Global Alliance and the Swedish Embassy of the United States of America.