Meet SWE’s African American AG
SWE is still celebrating (even though we’re about a week late!) Black History Month by highlighting its African American affinity group. The African American affinity group is one of seven affinity groups with in SWE. We sat down with the group’s leader, Rose-Margaret Itua to learn how the affinity group celebrated Black History Month.
“The African American affinity group is a community within SWE that provides resources to members that are interested in advocating for African American women in STEM. It serves as a platform for communication for over 130 members and is open to any SWE member. The group’s goal is to set the stage for future SWE leaders of color and promote black women to excel in their careers.” Itua says.
SWE is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion of women engineers, wherever they may be. Rose-Margaret, the African American affinity group lead, is comforted knowing that SWE wants to support and promote women of color in engineering by offering affinity groups as an additional resource for members. As a female engineer that grew up in Nigeria with little to no role models in the engineering field, she hopes that the affinity group can provide an outlet for members to share stories with other black women in industry and be inspired by their triumphs and successes.
For Black History month, the African American affinity group shared inspiring stories of influential black engineers and planned activities within their local communities.
It celebrated the work of black female engineers and their contributions to society. Group members of the Bay area partnered with Clorox to bring 60 high school girls to see the movie “Hidden Figures.” Through its efforts, the group is hoping to change the narrative surrounding African American women in engineering by engaging with younger generations.
Interested in joining the African American affinity group and joining? Check the group out on Facebook by submitting a join request. We encourage everyone to join the group! Once you’ve joined, please feel free to share posts, ask the group for advice, and join in discussions.
How did you celebrate Black History Month? Feel free to share with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn by using #SWEAfricanAmericanAG.
