The 2024 IEEE Symposium on Technology and Society concluded on Friday September 20, 2024, in Puebla, Mexico, with continued paper tracks, invited and keynote talks, and a panel moderated by SSIT Board member Bozenna Pasik-Duncan on “WIE: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
Ruth Lewis, Chair of the IEEE SSIT Standards Committee, along with Maike Luiken and David Gonzalez also gave an Invited Talk titled “Best Practices Guide to Developing Ethically Aligned and Environmentally Sustainable Standards.”
Bozenna Pasik-Duncan led the WIE: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion panel.
In addition to moderator Pasik-Duncan, the WIE: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion panel members were Morgan Kiani, Ruth Lewis, Mariela Lozada, Karen Tovar Parra, and Kelly McKenna. The need to increase the number of women in STEM professions was an overriding theme of the panel. Karen Tovar Parra noted four primary contributors to glass ceilings for women: lack of role models, bias in hiring and promotion, the wage gap, and imposter syndrome. She said that IEEE has a role to play with improving diversity in STEM professions including AI, including with a professional code of conduct based on merit and capability, equal pay, and equitable hiring. But, she noted, “the total percentage of women in IEEE never changes,” and remains at about 12%.
Details of the next International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS 2025) were released at the close of ISTAS 2024. 2025 Conference Chair Maureen Vavra announced that the ISTAS25 will be held at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA, September 10-12, 2025, and themed AI Evolution and Revolution. Current projected tracks are: Ethics and Governance, Healthcare and Biomedicine, Future of Work and Industry, Environmental Sustainability, and Culture, Arts and Society. For further information, contact Maureen Vavra at MWVavra@outlook.com.
-T. Bookman
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