Swiss Association of Women Engineers

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The Swiss Association of Women Engineers (SVIN) was founded in 1991. It is a nationwide professional association that brings together women in scientific and technical professions. The aim of the association is to stand up for the concerns of the engineering profession and to motivate young women for the engineering profession and the MINT professions (mathematics, IT, natural sciences and technology). The association is a member of the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences .

background

The founding of the Swiss Association of Women Engineers (SVIN) was related to a gradual change in the image of women in broad circles in Switzerland, which began with the adoption of the equality article in the federal constitution in 1981, the entry into force of a new marriage law in 1988 and the federal law on equality of Men and women in 1996, which contained a ban on discrimination in the field of gainful employment. SVIN and various equality offices developed support measures and campaigns to attract girls and women for technical professions. According to the historical study by Edith Maienfisch on female students at the Burgdorf Technical Center from 1892–2002, these measures resulted in an increasing proportion of women in Burgdorf and other technical universities in Switzerland with the exception of the electrical engineering department .

tasks and goals

According to the NZZ , the Swiss Association of Women Engineers sees itself “as a mouthpiece for qualified women from the fields of technology and natural sciences and aims to increase the proportion of women in these professions”.

The tasks and goals of the association include:

  • Platform building for the exchange of experience among female engineers
  • Networking with related organizations by launching joint projects
  • Promotion of the next generation of women in the engineering profession through appropriate events
  • Representation of the interests of female engineers in various industries, professional associations and political bodies
  • Improvement of the working and general conditions of women engineers

activities

In addition to organizing network events and training workshops for its members, the association also prepares statements on political initiatives ( consultation process ) such as B. on the federal skilled workers initiative or on curriculum 21 .

An important area of ​​the association is the promotion of young talent. The long-term funding project KIDSinfo was launched for this purpose . The aim is to give children of early school age a positive, gender-neutral image of the MINT professions . Engineers visit primary schools in order to arouse children's interest in technology and to give them an insight into the world of engineering and its professions. In 2015, the KIDSinfo project won the Building Award from the Swiss Foundation for the Promotion of Young Engineers in the Construction Industry in the Schools category .

The largest project carried out by the association to date is the culture guide stimulus program funded by the federal government in 2015/2016 and 2017/2018 . The aim of the program is a long-term increase in the proportion of women in technology-based industrial companies. The program is based on the knowledge that a sustainable change in corporate culture is necessary for this and a long-term change process must be initiated. Therefore, in addition to the engineers and line managers, the HR department and top management must also be involved in the workshops .

For the 25th anniversary of SVIN, the traveling exhibition “I am an engineer” was launched in 2018 . The exhibition is intended to give young women a positive job image of the engineer and encourage them to take up a STEM profession .

membership

The association is open to prospective and trained female engineers, natural scientists and exact scientists. About 300 women are united in the association. Companies and organizations can be accepted as supporting members by the association. Almost forty companies or universities are currently sustaining members of the association. These include institutions such as ABB Switzerland AG , the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) or Siemens Switzerland AG as well as national research institutions such as the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt (EMPA) or the Eidgenössische Anstalt für Wasserversorgung, Wastewater treatment and water protection (EAWAG).

Publications and Awards

The association publishes the SVIN News magazine every year . The association also presents the SVIN Award for influential engineers, technicians, natural scientists and computer scientists. The German physicist Heike Riel won the award in 2012 in the technical / scientific innovation category . The prize has only been awarded once so far.

Seat of the association

The office is located in Zurich .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Women engineers visiting OFCOM: The Swiss Association of Women Engineers. Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), accessed on November 18, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Sabina Sturzenegger: Our country needs women engineers. In: 20 minutes . June 28, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2018 .
  3. ↑ member societies . Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences (SATW).
  4. ↑ Edith Maienfisch: «The specific female element». The students at the Burgdorf Technical Center: a search for clues 1892–2002. LIT Verlag, Münster 2012, ISBN 978-3-643-80068-8 , p. 177.
  5. ^ Career advice in the Museum of Transport. In: NZZ . September 24, 2005.
  6. ↑ Activities. SVIN.
  7. ^ Letter to the Federal Council. SVIN (skilled workers' initiative).
  8. ↑ Questionnaire for consultation of the 21st FFU-PEE curriculum (PDF; 308 kB).
  9. ↑ KIDSinfo. In: Focus on women in construction. Equal opportunities and personnel development. Published by the Frau am Bau association, VDF Hochschulverlag AG at the ETH Zurich , 2003, ISBN 978-3-7281-2853-9 , p. 151.
  10. ↑ The winners objects 2015. Category Schools. KIDSinfo. Building Award.
  11. ↑ Report 2014. Financial aid under the Equal Opportunities Act to promote equal opportunities in working life. University of Basel (PDF; 374 kB).
  12. ↑ 16. Working meeting of the gender-oriented umbrella organizations: Success factors for gender equality projects as a core topic. Federal Bureau for Equality between Women and Men, August 24, 2016 (press release).
  13. ↑ Kultur-Wegweiser III - An impulse program by SVIN to increase the proportion of women in technology-based companies. Rütter Soceco.
  14. ↑ Corporate culture impulse. SVIN (PDF; 121 kB).
  15. ^ Exhibition "I am an engineer". SVIN.
  16. ↑ membership. SVIN (number of members).
  17. ↑ Our sponsoring members. SVIN.
  18. ↑ SVIN News. SVIN.
  19. ↑ SVIN Award. SVIN.