First Conference of Women Engineers, 1949

PDF version of pamphlet

The above document is an informational brochure and registration form used for the first conference of women engineering students held at the Drexel Institute of Technology in 1949.  The conference included a panel discussion among students and professionals presenting the industry's views on women engineers.  The conference's guest speaker was Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreth, a pioneer in the field of scientific management.  Her family was the subject of the popular book and film Cheaper by the Dozen.

World War II provided women with opportunities in the field of engineering as scores of men left their jobs for the military.  By the late 1940s, female engineering students at the Drexel Institute, Cooper Union, and the City College of New York began to form student groups.  These local groups are identified today as the origins of the Society of Women Engineers.  The Society of Women Engineers held its first national conference in 1950, one year after the conference at Drexel.  The Society of Women Engineers maintains a chapter at Drexel and continues to flourish nationally over fifty years after being established.  To find out more, visit the society's website.