Articles

President's Message - March 2022

This month we are celebrating Women’s History to recognize their many contributions to our profession. The 2022 Women’s History theme: “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during the pandemic and a recognition of the women of all cultures that have provided both healing and hope throughout history. This month our MOSAIC committee features Nora Stanton Blatch, who was the first female member of ASCE. Ms. Blatch continued her efforts toward activism promoting equal rights.

Though many people may feel that the struggle for women’s equality in the workplace has reached its intended conclusion, the data tells a different story. According to data from the 2021 ASCE Civil Engineering Salary Report, there is a continued wage gap for women and ethnic minorities. Based on median salaries, women earn approximately 78-cents for every dollar earned by men. When regression analysis controlled for variables including experience, engineering level, and geographic location, there is still an unexplained 5.5% pay differential.

We have already come so far since the early days of Ms. Blatch’s career, and our path forward is clear. It is important to recognize the societal problems to be addressed in a positive way, not to shame people but instead to bring out the best in everyone for a more productive work force.

Lastly, I have completed a joint service project with my son this week. We both have been growing our hair out since the beginning of the pandemic. The harvested hair has been donated to an organization that provides free wigs to children with illnesses or injuries resulting hair loss. (I did, however, need to ensure that the organization would accept gray hair!) You can see our before and after portraits below. I encourage everyone to find some way to give back to their community, no matter how big or how small.

Warm Regards,

Ed Penton, PE
ASCE Dallas Branch President