Increasing the representation of women in the global technology workforce, and in particular, in engineering, is critically important. From the initial engineering design to overall usability and, ultimately, to the impact of technology on society, it is important to have diversity involvement. In addition to other success metrics, this diversity ensures complete functionality as well as removing unintended consequences of bias.

More than 4500 women responded to a recent IEEE survey on women’s experiences in technology. The detailed findings outlined some of the discouraging experiences and perceptions within the industry. For some, they were assigned lower-level tasks, and comments were addressed to males in the room when the questions should have been addressed directly to the female respondents. Further, the second page of the survey results listed a summary of concrete suggestions from the respondents on how the issues that women face might be addressed. These included raising awareness of the status quo of women in the workplace and highlighting top performers to raise their visibility within their organization.

Today, many major initiatives work towards continuing to encourage women to stay and flourish in technology fields. The Women in Engineering International Leadership Conference (IEEE WIE ILC) is an annual event that focuses on providing leading-edge professional development for mid-level and senior women. One initiative, which was launched more than five years ago at the IEEE WIE ILC, provides professional women in technology, whether in industry, academia, or government, the opportunity to create communities that fuel innovation, facilitate knowledge-sharing and provide support through highly interactive sessions designed to foster discussionand collaboration.
 

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At the 2019 IEEE WIE ILC, held in Austin on May 23 and 24, attendees were able to participate in leadership workshops and to receive training on emerging technologies. The conference provided sessions on cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), digital transformation and security topics. Other sessions included leadership presentations on executive coaching, professional development and networking opportunities.

Some specific highlights to the WIE ILC 2019 conference showed advanced trends and topics in AI. As part of the disruptive technology track, Kay Aikin, co-founder, and CEO of Introspective Systems, provided an interactive conversation on autonomous artificial intelligence in re?imagining the electrical grid. In the past, Aikin worked on four Department of Energy (DOE) projects around researching and developing electrical grid architectures and AI-powered “transactive energy” controls. She is now leading an applied science company specializing in complex systems applications. In her talk, Aikin discussed high-level requirements for future grids that are affordable, high quality and sustainable. She also outlined the complexity of the problem and solutions and management through autonomous, distributed AI systems.

Keynote, Candace Worley, VP and chief technical strategist of McAfee, discussed the overall field of artificial intelligence and the human factors we must consider. The benefits of AI are a given, but some bias must be considered, including measurement, sample, algorithmic and prejudice. Privacy breaches and automated systems that have legal and financial consequences against certain groups are among risks. There are grey areas where convenience and privacy boundaries are not clear. Worley emphasized the importance of incorporating privacy and security protections into all AI and ML projects. She also encouraged attendees to hold both themselves and their colleagues accountable to this principle, whilealso remaining transparent about the benefits and risks of AI.

Also at WIE ILC, a panel of leaders in the energy sector presented insights and thoughts on innovation and cultural change fueling and sustaining the energy revolution. Led by Veronica Bermudez, Ph. D, who is the energy center director for the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), the panel included representatives from renewable energy sectors, cleantech companies and electric grids. Emerging technical development focuses on many areas of energy management, storage, conversion and efficiency, which can be enhanced by identifying and developing new technical strategies. In this highly-competitive market, bringing in innovative solutions, including AI and ML, will provide opportunities for breakthrough technologies, which can lead to major innovations to sustainable energy environments.

In addition to strong, technical skills, professional development is also key to leadership and advancement. Kathy Gruver, Ph.D., CHt, provided a talk titled “Professional Development on Communication.” To ensure effective communication takes place, Gruver advised attendees to watch for verbal versus non-verbal cues. She suggested that attendees should consider how others might react before approaching a conversation with them. Then, before engaging in dialogue, make sure the timing works for everyone involved. While speaking, seek clarification and repeat the other person’s words back to them. Keep in mind that stress can affect another’s perception, causing them to filter their responses, which would increase the inability to communicate clearly.When someone does not respond, Gruver reminded her listeners to remember that “silence is golden” and to understand it is okay to be quiet and wait. Leaders who are effective communicators frequently make slight tweaks as they speak, which makes for more effective communication and improves the overall potential for impact.

Catherine Jereza, ambassador to the U.S. Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Initiative, led a panel discussion titled “Empowering Women to Power up to the Executive Ranks.” Initiatives, such as C3E recognize outstanding women leaders and accomplishments in clean energy. Ambassadors from this group discussed their work to close the gap and increase the participation, leadership and success of women in clean energy fields including symposiums, awards and community.

Overall, diversity in technology, like training data in AI, design and implementation of technical components, and discussion during technical development, is important. Although female engineers have made great strides in the past few decades, the number of women in high?level positions is still low compared to male engineers. Jereza suggests retention rates for women in engineering increases when they join professional networking groups or attend conferences, which specifically target diverse audiences to engage and support their attendance.

Women engineers, in particular, may be looking to advance to the next step in their careers, and part of that involves obtaining the executive training needed for career advancement. Because the types of female roles in technology are diverse, we can explore and apply best practices from what has been learned by women in other verticals – such as women in government, women in scientific laboratories or women in business. When we talk about success, we start with the premise that it is as unique and individual as each person that comes to the conference, with an understanding that it is also based on the goals that a woman sets and reaches for herself.

The 2019 WIE ILC was a great success. As we prepare for the 2020 WIE ILC, I would love to see more participation from female engineers, focused on energy and utilities. We are looking for female executives to speak at WIE ILC in 2020, to highlight and share their latest innovative work in the electric energy fields. We will continue to provide both technical and professional classes, training, and workshops that can help a woman in technical fields to continue to thrive. Our goal is to inspire women to be engaged and work to empower them in ways that can promote them in their careers.

The results of that survey can be found at https:" //entrepreneurship.ieee.org.