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womenI&M continued
in
difficult to quantify. However, this is not a sufficient reason to
let the decision makers off the hook until a plan to fill the gap
is formulated.
Another situation that affects women disproportionately is
the re-entry [4] to work in the technology domain after a break.
The first concern that re-entering individuals have to face is the
accusation, or self-accusation, that technology moves on fast
and that a hiatus leaves the worker behind in knowledge, skills
and competences (KSC). However, the challenge to acquire
and update KSC is currently felt across many technical sectors,
irrespective of entry, re-entry or permanence. Take, for example,
the energy sector, and in particular the I&M developments
linked to the ongoing energy transition. The transition is fast,
and the requirements and applications of instrumentation,
measurement and monitoring are critical and are changing
at the speed of the transition, and so will KSC with them. The
gaps between KSC needs and the KSC of the current and future
workforce are large. The education system has to be updated
at all levels [5]. However, the most immediate approach, and
the only one that can quantitatively fulfil the needs, is a massive
re-training and upskilling of the existing workforce [6].
This will also facilitate migration across jobs and sectors. In
this perspective, re-entry, and of course first entry, of technical
women to tech jobs is made not only possible but desirable
and necessary. In other words, women's presence and careers
in tech jobs are part of a completely different way to look at and
develop talents.
One last point about training. Workers, leaders, managers,
volunteers in professional organizations, and individuals
in any other environment where gender and diversity is still a
journey all need and greatly benefit from training on gender
and diversity, whether focused on implicit bias, or inclusive
language or opportunities to reflect on one's own actions and
reactions. And such training opportunities need to be recurrent
rather than isolated events.
For understanding the diversity situation in an organization,
tracking and reading through the numbers is key. A great
case in the industry setting is briefly presented in [4] and may
represent an inspiration to search the root cause of gender unbalances.
To some extent, the diversity progress tracking is also
strategically done at IMS. How the status of 2022, in Fig. 1, was
reached, is partially shown in Fig. 3, by the nearly steady increase
in female AdCom members in the last 10 years.
Action!
The guiding principles and strategy for diversity and balanced
participation of women are turned into action by IMS leadership
and volunteers in ways fit for the I&M crowd.
Promoting, sponsoring, and nominating women and diverse
individuals who are fit to the roles has resulted in an IMS
Leadership that reflects a rich diversity. Some roles are critical
to linking to resources and motivators, others to reaching out
26
Fig. 3. Growth in the number of female members of the IMS AdCom over the
last decade.
to specific portions of the Membership and potential membership
where the potential for change is huge, e.g., the Liaison
with Women in Engineering or the Young Professional Representative,
currently the outstanding Judy Amanor-Boadu,
recipient of the 2020 IEEE I&M Society J. Barry Oakes Advancement
Award.
This cannot be a one-time effort. We are not sustainably or
stably there yet; it takes relentless recruiting, involving and
promoting sponsoring, and mentoring. The duty of each individual
of this diverse group is to make the others feel welcome
and communicate and share the value of diversity within and
outside the IMS.
This environment becomes the normality for all those involved,
so everybody comes to expect this environment in
their professional life and also outside the society and outside
IEEE. This is a deep cultural change that has the power to propagate
in all the committees and groups of members, starting
from the Chapters and Student Chapters.
Dedicated events, especially networking events at major
conferences (Fig. 4), are a way to create connection among
women and among IMS people who advocate for diversity.
And, this is a benefit to the Society and its Membership, as it is
a factor that strengthens the fabric of the community and thus
strengthens the reasons for the community to exist and thrive.
With a fair portion of quality female applicants, candidates
and nominees, the initiatives and programs of the IMS, such
as travel grants, Graduate Fellowship Awards (recipients Dr.
Samira Shamsir and Dr. Lijuan Wang), Dissertation Awards
(recipient Dr. Grazia Iadarola), and Course Development
Awards (recipients Dr. Olfa Kanoun, Dr. Simona Salicone, and
Dr. Sara Sulis) are effective ways to pursue women's recognition
and participation.
The Distinguished Lecture Program, coordinated by Dr.
Kristen Donnell, deserves a special highlight. With two female
Distinguished Lecturers out of eight, the DLP creates opportunities
to listen to female experts in a format that is showcasing
their technical capacity and is a strong way to attract others.
IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine
February 2023

Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 26-1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 26-1

Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine 26-1 - Cover1
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