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Inspiring the Next Generation: Latinas in Engineering Outreach Programs

As part of their spotlight month, the Latinos AG celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month by reviewing resources available for Latina engineers.
Latinos Affinity Group
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Latinas are underrepresented in the engineering field. Many are first generation or immigrant students and the thought of focusing on a field never explored by their family can be daunting. The lack of representation in industry and academia is also a factor that leads many Latinos to believe that they do not belong or qualify for careers in STEM.

As industry and academia realize through studies that a diverse workforce leads to increased performance, many have stood up initiatives that invest in the future workforce, investing in educational strategies to keep girls and women engaged in every stage of STEM.

There are numerous outreach programs and resources available to inspire and support the next generation of Latinas pursuing careers in engineering. For first-generation and Latino immigrant students, these resources can be key in providing access to opportunities, mentorship, and a supportive community. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of these programs, many with scholarship opportunities, and highlight some of the initiatives that are making a difference in encouraging Latinas to pursue engineering careers.

Outreach Programs and Resources

Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

SWE is an international organization dedicated to supporting women in engineering and technology. We offer outreach programs, scholarships, and resources to encourage young women, including Latinas, to pursue STEM careers. SWE provides a supportive community for Latina engineers to connect with peers and mentors who can guide them in their academic and professional journeys. The Latinos Affinity group partners with universities all across the country and helps provide latina focused professional development and mentorship from Latinas in industry who understand the challenges faced by younger latinas in STEM. If you are interested in STEM and want to connect with a Latina engineer, connect with us! We’re all eager to bring up more Latinas into engineering. Check out the SWE Latinos Affinity Group.

SWENext

SWE Endowed Scholarships: SWENext Scholarship -SWENext is a free pre-college program offered by SWE that allows K-12 students to connect with SWE members and other STEM students in their area. Students of all ages and genders are welcome, and clubs can be formed from school groups, local friends, already established clubs, and more. Clubs can be as engaged or relaxed as they want, but all allow the students to connect with industry professionals, grant access to a large network of mentors from all fields of engineering, and provide resources to students such as leadership development, scholarships, and recognition awards.

Learn more about SWENext.

Seeds of Success

Gender stereotypes and lack of access to relatable role models, mentors, and STEM opportunities have been suggested as deterrents for middle school girls and students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue STEM careers. Seeds of Success, an out-of-school program, is designed to inspire girls to consider STEM careers by countering gender stereotypes through relatable role models, promoting STEM confidence through STEM workshops and hands-on activities, and encouraging alignment between cultural and STEM identities through community-based STEM projects that develop leadership skills. Since 2015, the program has impacted 453 students, who in turn have reached more than 42,777 people in Puerto Rico through their STEM Ambassadors projects.

Latina Engineer

Inspiring the Next Generation: Latinas in Engineering Outreach ProgramsLatina Engineer’s mission is to empower Latinas in engineering by providing educational and professional development resources. Latinas represent 2% of STEM field professionals. Latina Engineer hopes to help close the gap, connect young Latinas in these fields, and create an international network of ingenieras. Founder Diana Iracheta wanted to share what her life as a minority in engineering was like and created a community in which she could share resources that were missing as she became an engineer.

Latina Engineer offers content in various channels including Instagram and a mentorship and scholarship program. Find out more about Latina Engineer.

Latinas in STEM

Inspiring the Next Generation: Latinas in Engineering Outreach ProgramsLatinas in STEM is a nonprofit organization focused on supporting and empowering Latina women in STEM fields, including engineering. They offer mentorship, professional development workshops, and networking events to help Latinas navigate their careers and succeed in the engineering industry. Latinas in STEM also provides resources for first-generation and immigrant students to access opportunities in engineering.

Latinas in STEM offers both outreach programs for K-12 students as well as college and post-secondary programs. They also host an annual event called the Latins STEM conference and offer resources for teachers to help Latino students in the classroom. This organization also provides scholarships for high school students entering college.

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and SHPEtinas

SHPE changes lives by empowering the Hispanic community to realize its fullest potential and to impact the world through STEM awareness, access, support, and development. SHPE’s vision is a world where Hispanics are highly valued and influential as the leading innovators, scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. Their SHPEtinas program accelerates and affirms Latina representation at all levels of STEM corporate and academic leadership. It accomplishes this by recognizing the unique perspective Latinas bring to solving the world’s most pressing problems while creating new, influential role models for the next generation. Read more in this recent post on SWE’s All Together blog.

Inspiring the next generation of Latinas in engineering and providing support to first-generation and Latino immigrant students is essential to creating a more diverse and inclusive engineering workforce. By promoting outreach programs, resources, and success stories, we can empower Latinas to pursue careers in engineering and make valuable contributions to the field. Together, we can build a more diverse and equitable engineering community that reflects the talent and potential of all individuals, regardless of their background or circumstances.

The Latinos Affinity Group (AG) is for SWE members who identify as Latino, are of Hispanic or Latin American heritage, or are allies of this community.​ Are you a Hispanic/Latina Engineer or an ally? Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Linktree. You can also subscribe to our AG’s updates by logging into your member portal and editing your Communication Preferences.

Author

  • Mariel Cisneros

    Mariel Cisneros (she/her) is a senior program manager leading architecture analysis and digital engineering for the research and advanced design organization as part of the aeronautics sector at the Northrop Grumman Corporation. In this role, Mariel oversees all the architecture and model-based systems engineering products across a wide portfolio of projects, ranging from advanced weapons, future battle management systems, and even space air integration for tomorrow’s battles. Mariel also serves as the Chief Architect for the NATO Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (AFSC) study, helping implement distributed military battle management capabilities across the allied world. Mariel brings a diverse perspective to her role from prior experiences on both air and space programs to guide the strategic vision for the future of the aeronautics projects. Mariel is an immigrant and proud first-generation graduate and holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology from California State University, Long Beach, a master’s degree in architecture-enterprise based systems engineering from the University of California, San Diego, and several certifications from the California Institute of Technology. Mariel is an active and passionate DEI leader within the SWE and Northrop Grumman communities serving as the SWE Latinos Affinity Group Co-Chair, the SWE Orange County Section Outreach chair, the SATO Academy of Math and Science SWENext Counselor, the Northrop Grumman’s Mujeres Initiative External Relations Chair and the Women’s International ERG Enterprise Chair.

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All Together is the blog of the Society of Women Engineers. Find stories about SWE members, engineering, technology, and other STEM related topics. It’s up-to-date information and news about the Society and how our members are making a difference everyday.

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