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 27,000 individual members, 55% of which are students

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 Force2006SWE 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
  
• 2013 - SWE hosts largest Annual Conference to date with 7,000+ attendees in Baltimore