Dear Editor,

On this special International Women in Engineering Day, the Institute Electrical Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Women in Engineers, Jamaica Section expresses sincere gratitude to all women engineers worldwide and, in particular, the Jamaican women in engineering.

Your huge contribution to the industry is well appreciated on this special day. We salute you all and encourage you to stay positive and strong in this male-dominated industry. Continue to make your mark and impact on the Jamaican economy and, by extension, globally.

As chair for the IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group in Jamaica (WIEAGJ), I would like to personally thank all women in engineering for your contribution and continued support over the years. On this special day I charge you to continue to be positive and powerful in the engineering industry. In your role as engineers motivate and encourage more girls to choose an engineering career path.

The IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) is a global network of IEEE members and volunteers dedicated to promoting women engineers and scientists, and inspiring girls around the world to follow their academic interests in careers in engineering and science.

IEEE Jamaica Section has been in existence since 1977 catering to the needs of local engineers and serves as a mentor to students in the development of their career.

In April 2019, the IEEE WIEAGJ was formed and launched on July 3, 2019. At the launch of the IEEE WIEAGJ, Minister of Science, Energy and Technology Fayval Williams noted that locally, the number of females enrolled in engineering at the two major universities — The University of the West Indies (UWI) and University of Technology, Jamaica — stood at approximately 10 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively in 2015-16, and encouraged the IEEE WIE Jamaica Section members to embrace diversity and inclusively of both sexes to advance as a country in the digital age. She further charged the newly formed IEEE WIEAGJ to establish more student branches in the rural areas.

The IEEE WIEAGJ has since formed the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) IEEE Student Branch and formation of the IEEE Student Branch at the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) is at an advanced stage of formation. The IEEE Women in Engineering Jamaica Section also hosted a leadership panel discussion in November 2019, ‘Igniting your passion for work as a leader’, with international panellists Susan Land, IEEE president-elect 2020; and Mary Ellen Randall, president/CEO Ascot Technologies, USA. Local panellists included Dr Paul Aiken, CEO Mona Tech Engineering Services; Dr Therese Chambers, head of school at the School of Engineering, University of Technology, Jamaica; and Ryan Sterling, CEO, Vertis Technology Solution Ltd.

We call on organisations to encourage your employees within the IEEE designated fields — engineering, computer sciences and information technology, physical sciences, biological and medical sciences, mathematics, technical communications, education, management, and law and policy to join IEEE and IEEE Women in Engineering as we seek to advance technology for the benefit of humanity.

Have a happy International Woman in Engineering Day.

Sharlene Brown

sharlenenbrown@ieee.org