HeForSWE Affinity Group (AG) grew tremendously this year, propelled by the energy and momentum from WE24. Many of the connections formed at the conference joined our team and made an immediate impact through their expertise, perspectives, and commitment to gender equity in engineering.
One of our major achievements this year was the development and publication of the HeForSWE Collegiate Guidelines, a comprehensive resource outlining best practices for establishing and sustaining a collegiate HeForSWE AG, complete with lessons learned from active collegiate groups across the country. To further support this effort, we prepared Collegiate Starter Packs for WE25 that included the guidelines and curated HeForSWE materials to help spark conversations and activate new engagement at the conference.
Our team also expanded its external outreach, engaging both collegiate sections and industry partners. Notable highlights include a presentation for Los Alamos National Laboratory, a spotlight month collaboration with the University of Minnesota HeForSWE, and a successful, highly interactive discussion at WE25, Your Story Matters: An Interactive Conversation on Women in Engineering, which we will present again during our virtual Town Hall on Dec. 4. We were also proud to be present at WE Local Milwaukee, where one of our members, Bob Stavig, delivered a session titled “Retaining Women in Engineering: Leveling the Playing Field.”
This year also marked a meaningful milestone for our leadership: two of our co-leads served as contributing authors to the book Beyond the Pipeline: Redefining Value, Success, and the Future of Women in STEMM-Together, published in August, writing chapters on allyship and the business case for DE&I. Their contributions reflect the values at the core of HeForSWE and strengthen our role in broader conversations on equity in STEM. Many of our AG members are also active contributors and leaders to corporate DE&I and workplace resource groups, further amplifying SWE’s mission across their organizations.
We were honored to be recognized as a Silver recipient of the SWE Mission Award, a testament to the dedication, collaboration, and sustained impact of our team.
Internally, the HeForSWE AG continues to grow and evolve. We meet monthly and launched several new internal committees this year to strengthen community building within the AG and to accelerate progress on our strategic priorities for outreach. Another highlight of internal collaboration was Rob Douglas’s partnership with the Early Career AG to host a virtual event, Discover Your Engineering Allies, which helped early-career engineers understand how allyship can shape their professional paths.
We welcome new members and collaborators year-round. Connect with us on LinkedIn or reach out at HeForSWE.AG@swe.org to get involved or learn more about our work.
