What can SWE do for you?

Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

SWE is a non-profit educational service organization dedicated to making known the need for women engineers and encouraging young women to consider an engineering education.

When this organization was formed a little more than fifty years ago, it was not uncommon for an engineering class to contain a single woman amongst an entire class of men.  Today, times have changed and the ratio of women to men in the engineering profession is much higher.  If you are lucky, the ratio such as it happens to be in this year's senior chemical engineering class, may even be near 50:50.  However, the professional world still  has not achieved these raitios.  According to the latest statistics by the National Science Foundation, .the ratio of male to female engineers in the labor force is approximately only 10:1.  Here at UD, however, the ratio is approximately 4:1.

The organization's four objectives are:

To inform young women, their parents, counselors, and the public in general of the qualifications and achievements of women engineers and the opportunities open to them.

To assist women engineers in readying themselves for a return to active work after temporary retirement.

To serve as a center of information on women in engineering.

To encourage women engineers to attain high levels of educational and professional achievement.

Mission Statement

The Society of Women Engineers stimulates women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expands the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrates the value of diversity.

This page was last modified on May 30, 2009, by Erica Hoffman