About Us

For more than six decades, SWE has given women engineers a unique place and voice within the engineering industry. Our organization is centered around a passion for our members' success and continues to evolve with the challenges and opportunities reflected in today's exciting engineering and technology specialties.
We invite you to explore the values, principles, and priorities that guide our initiatives and learn how together, WE can continue to make a lasting impact on the future.
Explore our About SWE mobile course within the Advance Learning Center. The course will provide a more in-depth describe of SWE's mission, vision, and strategic goals and provide an overview of the key programs and member benefits provided by SWE.

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SWE Mission

​SWE Vision

Empower women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.

​A world with gender parity and equality in engineering and technology​

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Our History

• Overview

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a not-for-profit educational and service organization that empowers women to succeed and advance in the field of engineering, and to be recognized for their life-changing contributions as engineers and leaders. SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career for women through an exciting array of training and development programs, networking opportunities, scholarships, and outreach and advocacy activities.

Founded
1950

Objectives

Goal 1: Professional excellence - SWE will develop women engineers at all stages of their personal and professional lives. 

Goal 2: Globalization - SWE will be recognized as a global, inclusive organization, promoting diversity and inclusion and serving women engineers wherever they are.

Goal 3: Advocacy - SWE will advocate for the inclusion and success of women, present and prospective, in engineering and technology. 


Members
Approximately 35,000 individual members which are collegiates and professionals.

Levels
Ten geographic regions are comprised of 300 collegiate member sections and 100 professional member sections.

Milestones in SWE's History 
1950: SWE was formed; Dr. Beatrice Hicks was elected as the Society's           first president
1951: SWE holds its first annual National Convention in New York City
1951: Journal of the Society of Women Engineers is published
1952: SWE becomes incorporated as a non-profit educational service
​          organization
1953: SWE becomes truly "national," as the Los Angeles section is 
​          chartered
1956: A Board of Trustees is established
1983: The executive director position is created
1983: The Board of Directors is re-established
1994: SWE enters the public policy arena
2000: SWE celebrates 50 years
2003: The Corporate Partnership Council is formed
2005: SWE joins coalition formed by MentorNET to raise awareness of 
​          the issues of women in STEM
2006: SWE makes strides in policy by co-issuing the position paper,
​          SWE General Position Statement on Science, Technology,
​         Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education and the Need for
​        a U.S. Technologically-Literate Work Force
2006: SWE sponsors EWeek
2006: New outreach program, Aspire, is launched
2008: WE08 Annual Conference breaks attendance records
2010: SWE celebrates 60 years of success with SWE60
2015: SWE hosts largest Annual Conference to date with 8,000+
​          attendees in Nashville