Message from the chairs

Did you know that WIE (Women in Engineering) membership is not just for women?  Yes, it is warmly open to men who support women engineers!  Furthermore, it’s a lesser-known fact that WIE membership is free for IEEE student and life members.  This year, as the Region 10 Women in Engineering Committee, we are motivated and united in our efforts to spread this message throughout the community.

R10 WIE is excited to launch an array of activities designed to support our members and align with WIE’s core mission:  promoting women engineers and scientists while inspiring girls worldwide to pursue academic careers in engineering and science.

Our initiatives are organized around three main objectives: Connect, Support, and Inspire.

We believe that forging connections among peers is essential for empowering one another. Therefore, we plan special sessions and coffee breaks at our flagship conferences, to provide opportunities to meet and share experiences with the WIE community.

Engaging with students early is key to inspiring young women to embrace STEAM education and careers.  In 2025, WIE funding proudly supported college STEAM workshops, teacher training programs, and similar initiatives under our support framework including family sessions because we believe that changes can start at home!

We also recognize that men and women face many kinds of challenges in balancing their personal and professional lives when they find themselves having to take on caregiving roles.  To address this, we also supported WIE projects featuring innovative ideas for connecting, supporting, or vitalizing society’s caregivers using technology.

Additionally, we invited WIE groups across the region to engage in  contests to showcase the creativity of our members in developing designs for conveying the powerful messages: “Men are welcome to join WIE” and “WIE membership is free for students and life members”.

Let’s come together to strengthen our community and empower one another in our journeys in the engineering world!

Stay tuned with us for updates in 2026 on the R10 WIE Website, Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

Warunika M. Hippola
2025-26 IEEE R10 WIE Committee Chair (South Asia and Pacific)

Pauline N. Kawamoto
2025-26 IEEE R10 WIE Committee Chair (North Asia)