IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2022 - 4

President's Message
President's Message
Lifetimes of Involvement With SSIT
Clinton J. Andrews
E.J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 USA
 This anniversary year provides a reason
to reflect on the fact that many members have
been involved with SSIT the IEEE Society on Social
Implications of Technology (SSIT) throughout their
full professional careers. This may span just a few
eventful years, as is the case with our current student
activities chair whose university and early professional
experience has been dominated by pandemic
conditions. Or it may span many eventful
decades, as is the case with the current secretary of
our governing board, who first joined IEEE in 1958,
long before SSIT existed, and is still an active and
valued volunteer today.
Interesting factoids emerge from mining SSIT's
membership data on the duration of involvement.
* The average SSIT member joined IEEE in the year
2000, the median member joined in 2004, and
the modal member joined in 2021. So, our largest
cohort is our newest-good news for the revitalization
of our membership!
* The average male member joined IEEE in 1995,
whereas the average female member joined
in 2010. The earliest date any current member
joined IEEE is 1945, but no current female members
joined until 1965. This likely reflects the participation
of females in the engineering workforce
during that period. Starting in 2010, the number of
males and females among our current membership
who joined SSIT each year became more
similar, achieving an average female proportion
of 38% during the past decade.
* There is great regional variation in the length of
membership. The average Western Hemisphere
member (IEEE Regions 1-7 and 9) joined in 1996,
whereas the average European/Middle East/African
member (Region 8) joined in 2004 and the
average Asian member (Region 10) joined in 2010.
A graphical look at the SSIT membership (Figure
1) by year joining IEEE and Region shows our
remarkable diversity in the form of a distinctive,
sloping surface. Our longest-serving members are
predominantly US-based and males, but our largest
new cohorts are Asian and, although not shown,
often students and females.
The visible distinctions by region, gender, and
length of IEEE involvement have profound implications
for what we do. The deep bench of experienced
members is a valuable resource for this volunteer-led
organization. The large groups of newer members are
equally valuable for ensuring SSIT's continued viability.
The fact that these two groups are demographically
dissimilar is a challenge that our organization is
addressing.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2022.3197263
Date of current version: 16 September 2022.
4
0278-0097/22©2022 IEEE
In terms of governance, SSIT has done well in
recent years to improve the regional and gender
representativeness of its governing board. Five of
the nine elected members at large are females in
2022, although most of the appointed positions
remain in male hands. Four of the nine are based
outside the United States (Regions 1-6). Our publication
editors and conference organizers have
increasingly come from the newer, more female,
non-U.S. cohorts.
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2022
