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October 29, 1997 marked the inaugural meeting of the AWIS Corporate
Forum. AWIS created the Forum “to assist the private sector to
successfully integrate women scientists and engineers by creating a
corporate culture that fosters the recruitment, retention, and
promotion of women in science, technology, and engineering. AWIS will
make its already established programs available to the private
sector.”
AWIS and its chapters have a history of joint projects with
companies representing the science and technology industry. However,
the nationwide trend of more women in science and technology pursuing
careers in industry is mirrored by an increased representation of
these women as AWIS members. In an effort to serve the needs of a
changing membership and a changing workforce, AWIS developed the Forum
in order to take a proactive approach to advancing women in industry
on a broader scale. To that end, industry and government professionals
gathered in Washington, DC, to discuss strategies for recruitment,
retention, and advancement of women in industry.
Sheila Widnall, Secretary of the Air Force, spoke to the group on
“Lessons from the Air Force.” It was one of the Secretary’s last
public appearances before retiring from her position and returning to
MIT. After highlighting some moments of the history of women in the
Air Force, Secretary Widnall hypothesized about why the Air Force
makes an attractive career option for women.
"We place tremendous emphasis on training and education in our
Air Force. Not just initially upon recruitment, but we also
encourage training and education at all levels of management, for both
new recruits and supervisors alike. In order to remain competitive for
increased leadership opportunities, all of our people must become
proficient in both their assigned specialties and their chosen
profession.
When you think about it, the common thread throughout our Air
Force is a quality work environment, one that allows women to be
guided by an unselfish set of principles, best articulated by our Air
Force’s Core Values: “Integrity first, Service before self, and
Excellence in all we do.”
These are the core values that will sustain us as we look ahead.
Yes, our Air Force has made progress, but we are not satisfied with
the status quo, as good as it may be. Women yearn for more and better
ways to serve. Our Service has always been inextricably linked to
progress through innovation. That’s where you can help.
I want to challenge each of you to build on our Air Force’s
progress. Please look around your work places and ask what you’re
doing to improve the quality of life in your organization. Ask
yourselves: What benefits would accrue to your organization once it
has been committed to excellence through continuing education for all
of your people? Ask yourselves: What changes your organization could
make that would make recruiting and retention your hallmarks? Ask
yourselves: What’s not perfect yet?
So I leave with you this common denominator of responsibility that
unites policy-making and technology. That common denominator is
“people.” Whether our daily focus is public service or private
interests, we believe that the excellence of our lifetime’s pursuit is
directly linked to our pursuit of excellent people who will consider
serving us for their lifetime."
The enthusiasm generated by the entire day culminated in the final
brainstorming session, facilitated by Jill Shapiro of CH2M HILL.
The action items decided upon by the group include:
- A focus on technical/scientific women
- Benchmarking what works and what doesn’t with respect to the
recruitment, retention, and advancement of women
- To continue to share and integrate information from different
industries and sectors.
Recommended interim actions involved developing a survey for women
in industry to determine the definition of success, researching the
demographics of the heads of research divisions in Fortune 500
companies, and considering a future cross-industry conference. The
group expressed great interest in meeting again soon, possibly in the
first quarter of 1998.
The Forum members last stop of the day was Capitol Hill where they
attended a meeting honoring Congresswoman Constance Morella (R-MD),
Chair of the Subcommittee on Technology, and her fellow Technology
Subcommittee members, Congressman Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Vice Chair of
the Science Committee, and Congresswoman Deborah Stabenow (R-MI) for
their support of women in science and technology. All three members of
Congress gave strong endorsements of the need for more cooperative
ventures such as the Forum, and the importance of continued support
for science and technology.
A growing representation of women in industry at the national level
and in AWIS’ membership, will leverage AWIS experience with the
advancement of women in science and technology to form models that can
be tailored for women in industry. This new partnership will ensure a
proactive approach to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of
women in science and technology. | 
