Bechtel announced it has contributed an additional $100,000 to the SWENext program as the company celebrates 50 years partnering with the Society of Women Engineers. Created in 2015, SWENext offers self-development courses, leadership training, and college preparation activities to girls around the world in school grades K-12.
We want to encourage and support more women to pursue STEM careers. We need the best talent to overcome the critical engineering and technical challenges that will shape this century,” said Brendan Bechtel, Chairman and CEO of Bechtel. “As an industry, we have to break down the barriers and disincentives that have disadvantaged women for far too long. At Bechtel, we are working every day to be the company of choice for women, and where they are inspired to grow and lead.”
We are proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our relationship with Bechtel,” said Karen Horting, executive director and CEO of the Society of Women Engineers. “Thinking back on all we’ve accomplished together makes me appreciate the enormous contributions Bechtel has made to support women engineers. When SWE was founded in 1950, Bechtel engineers were among our first members and, decades later, Bechtel is still making significant contributions to the profession. SWE has benefitted from this support, as well as the leadership from Bechtel and the four Bechtel engineers who have served as SWE president during this period.”
Brendan Bechtel joined more than a hundred Bechtel team members in Houston last week for SWE’s conference, where he participated in the “Inclusive Leadership from the Top” panel discussion moderated by Karen Horting. During the panel discussion, Brendan discussed the importance of building and sustaining a culture across the EPC industry where women feel they can join, stay, and thrive in their careers, encouraging allyship across the company, and implementing diversity and inclusion programs across geographies. Brendan also honored the late Ada Pressman, one of Bechtel’s women pioneers in engineering and construction who gave a lifetime of service to SWE.
