IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - March 2020 - 158

WOMEN IN GRSS
SHAWN C. KEFAUVER, KEELY ROTH, AND MARIKO BURGIN

From WinGRSS to IDEA:
Thinking More Broadly About Diversity and Inclusion

oving into 2020 marks a number of milestones (if
only based on its simplified numerology). The beginning of a new year and a new decade is always a good
opportunity for retrospection, especially when progress
has been made and is underway. The year 2019 marked
both the last year that the IEEE Geoscience and Remote
Sensing Society (GRSS) Women in GRSS (WinGRSS)
would be a committee on its own and the launch of the
Inspire, Develop, Empower, Advance (IDEA) Committee
(http://www.grss-ieee.org/community/idea/). WinGRSS has
not gone away. Rather, it is now part of IDEA, which represents a broader and stronger mission of diversity and
inclusion within the GRSS.
Diversity and inclusion initiatives
are on the rise in academia,
WE ARE PROUD TO TAKE
government, and industry and
ON THE MISSION OF
suggest a broader call to build
EXPANDING DIVERSITY
organizations that embody the
AND INCLUSION WITHIN
strengths of differences among
THE GRSS THROUGH THE
their members. These programs
IDEA COMMITTEE.
focus on creating an inclusive and
diverse environment encompassing a number of dimensions of diversity, including gender/gender identity, race/ethnicity,
nationality, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic
status, physical and mental ability, language, parental status, age, education, and more. A growing body of research
is defining the value that diversity brings to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines and
scientific progress as a whole, particularly with respect to
innovation, excellence, talent, and long-term economic
growth [1].
We are proud to take on the mission of expanding
diversity and inclusion within the GRSS through the
IDEA Committee. To celebrate our transition to IDEA,
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MGRS.2020.2969838
Date of current version: 6 March 2020

158

we would like to take a moment to highlight some of
our achievements and work in progress from 2019 and
share our plans for making 2020 a special year of inspiring, developing, empowering, and advancing the
best in all of us. As mentioned, WinGRSS is not gone
but stronger than ever and growing, with updates and
expansions planned for many of its flagship programs.
Social media networking opportunities in LinkedIn
and Facebook are still very active and expanding on
Twitter @IEEEWinGRSS. In addition, the GRSS Women Mentoring Women program (Figure 1) is being revamped with new success stories from Dr. Qian Zhan
(mentee) and Dr. Josée Levesque (mentor), support for
associated travel grants, and other benefits. Prof. Alina
Zare and Dr. Heather McNairn have done a great job of
updating the signup process and pairing mentors with
mentees during 2019. Also, those who are interested
should keep an eye out for additional inspirational material coming in 2020.
New activities and improvements have also been
introduced to WinGRSS activities at the annual IEEE
International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) in recent years: in 2017, an improved
Women in GRSS luncheon format was initiated, and
new developments in the Women in GRSS forum were
instituted, such as an expansion to include diverse
perspectives regarding career paths in the GRSS from
women of different technological and educational
backgrounds. Finally, coordination with IEEE Women
in Engineering (WIE) continues with the Inspiring
Member of the Year, Inspiring Student Member of the
Year, and Affinity Group of the Year awards, which
empower GRSS members to encourage cross-society
recognition for those peers who have made exceptional contributions. Additionally, the IDEA Committee continues to send women to the annual WIE
International Leadership Conference, an incredible
opportunity for those interested in developing valuable
IEEE GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING MAGAZINE

MARCH 2020

http://www.grss-ieee.org/community/idea/

IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - March 2020

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