Tales from the Archives: Getting from There to Here in Public Policy
SWE members typically head to Washington D.C. around this time each year for Congressional Visits Day, speaking to their legislators about policy issues relevant to STEM education and women in the engineering workforce. This year those meetings begin on April 14 and are of course happening virtually.
SWE has hosted Congressional Visits Day for more than a decade. It’s pretty remarkable, not only because of the impact that members can have in educating policymakers, but also because for much of its history the Society has expressly avoided participating in public policy. So today we’re going back into the archives to explore how SWE’s stance evolved from actively avoiding public policy advocacy in its early years to actively engaging in it.
Join SWE archivist Troy Eller English and SWE director of editorial and publications Anne Perusek as they explore and explain the history of SWE’s advocacy efforts.
“SWE has traveled quite the road from actively avoiding public policy to actively participating in it. Whether or not you’re participating in Congressional Visits Day this year, we hope you find a way to use your professional expertise to educate policy makers on issues affecting women engineers in the classroom and in the field.”
