MISSION STATEMENT
The Women's International Network of Utility Professionals is an organization providing a link for developing and recognizing professionals involved with utility business trends, issues, products, and services.
OBJECTIVES
Opportunities for professional development of members. Network and mentoring among members. Recognition and visibility for members and business partners.
VALUES
Message From The President
WiNUP Members,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome all of you to another year that will be full of opportunities for networking, professional and personal development. With each year that passes our organization grows and continues to find new ways to support our members and help you reach your goals.
These past two years, as difficult as they may have been, taught us to push forward and grow in ways we didn’t think we needed to. We learned to come together virtually and it continues to open many doors for us.
We return this year to kick off the 2nd international mentoring opportunity. Keep an eye on your email for the applications to be a mentee and a mentor.
We officially have our STEM framework in place and will be utilizing this to support each chapter in their philanthropic goal to support STEM in the community.
We have incorporated new goals into each of the committees for the year and look forward to continuing to foster a WiNUP culture of diversity and inclusion.
Planning is underway for our next 3 conferences so mark your calendars now for the opportunity to reunite in person with your WiNUP sisters.
In closing I want to thank you for choosing to become a WiNUP member this year and encourage you to make the most of your membership by staying involved and taking advantage of all that WiNUP has to offer.
Welcome to 2022!
I started out 2022 reviewing my personal bucket list. The great thing about a bucket list is it is a living document. As the seasons of my life change, I add to it. My bucket list is mainly a list of adventurous places I want to visit. But it does include a few adventures where I need to sharpen some of my current skills in order to be successful. This review set a list of personal development goals in motion for this year. I feel these personal development goals will also aid in the direction of my professional development throughout the year.
We often talk about professional development and personal development as two separate sets of goals. But are they really all that separate? Let’s look at personal development as the foundation. Some of our foundational skills are confidence, patience, self-awareness, communication, creative thinking, positivity, time management, motivation, problem-solving, critical thinking, conflict resolution. All of the skills listed here and many more make up the foundation you will be building on when adding profession specific skills. Your growth and development is a continuous cycle of reflection and self-improvement. Some development opportunities may be similar year after year while you may choose to add other opportunities with changes in your profession.
This year two of my personal goals are to strengthen my creative side and build confidence. So far this year, I have signed up for a Milky Way photography workshop and a stained glass workshop. Photographing the Milky Way and the Northern Lights are recent bucket list additions. I developed a love for nature photography (butterflies, bumble bees, flowers) when I was very young. Astrophotography was added as a bucket list item recently as I have always admired the work of others, but don’t have the confidence in my skill set to obtain the desired results. It is time to get out of my comfort zone and sharpen my skills. Stay tuned for my review of the workshops and how I can apply what I learned to my professional development as well.
If you don’t have a professional development plan through your employer, I recommend you take the time and write one out to include a few personal and professional development goals. If you do have a professional development plan through your employer, I encourage you to add at least one personal development goal to it.
WiNUP offers a Professional Development Scholarship for members. The scholarships are designed for degree or non-degree study. Non-degree study would include professional development programs and workshops that have associated participation costs. Applicants must be actively taking classes when making application or enrolled in an upcoming session to be considered for the award. The amount available is up to $500. Applications are due May 1.
Affirmation: I am willing to learn new things and new techniques.
Note: If you have never heard of the term “bucket list”, it is a list of all the goals you want to achieve, dreams you want to fulfill, and life experiences you wish to experience before you die.
Submitted by Karen Gilmer
ACTIVITY CENTER
NO PEEKING - ANSWERS AT THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER
Spring Has Sprung
Safety Tips for Gardening and Landscaping
Eager to exercise your green thumb? Each Spring sends homeowners scurrying to collect the materials needed to create a perfectly manicured lawn and garden. In the rush to beautify your landscape, don’t forget the importance of safety. Never underestimate the potential hazards of handling and using machinery, tools, pesticides and fertilizers.
Some important tips for keeping you and your family safe:
• Don’t take on more than you can handle. Be careful to avoid fatigue and heat stress. Avoid sudden or sustained periods of activity, take periodic breaks and drink plenty of water.
• Lift properly. Keep your back straight, bend your knees and lift with your legs. Get help when moving or lifting heavy objects like mulch, soil, large shrubs, trees and firewood.
• Use the right tools and keep them properly maintained. Store your lawn and garden tools in a safe area. Inspect tools before each use - don’t use if damaged. Read the equipment owner’s manuals and operate them according to instructions and only for the job they were engineered to do. Unplug all power tools when not in use, even if they are in the “off” position. Don’t leave tools unattended or allow children or inexperienced adults to operate them. Before using any equipment, inspect the area in which it will be used and remove objects that could potentially damage people, equipment or property.
Wear the appropriate gear.
• Shoes and gloves: Wear shoes that protect your entire foot. The safest have a non-skid sole and safety toe. Protect your hands from cuts, splinters and burns by using gloves - wear the correct pair for the type of work being done. Rubber boots and gloves offer the most protection when applying chemicals.
• Ear, eye, and lung/nasal protection: To prevent hearing damage, use ear protection such as earplugs while operating a mower, blower or other noisy equipment. Safety goggles can protect eyes from a number of hazards - always wear them when mowing, blowing, weed whacking, pruning or other tasks that can cause flying debris. Protect lungs and nasal passages by wearing a dust mask. Ask your local home-improvement store about specialty masks to use when applying garden chemicals.
• Play it safe around electricity and gas. Equip all outdoor electrical outlets with ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI). If using extension electrical cords, make sure they are UL-approved for the required power and outdoor use. Never use electrical equipment - including electric mowers, edgers or trimmers - on wet/damp grass or shrubbery or in the rain. If using machinery fueled by gas, store gas in an approved container. Fill gas outside using a funnel to prevent spills - never fill while equipment is operating or hot.
Use pesticides and fertilizers with caution.
• Store chemicals in their original containers and locked in cabinets away from children and pets. Always read the label and follow directions regarding proper use, suggested personal protective equipment, proper and safe method of disposal and if exposed, appropriate first-aid treatment. Wear long sleeves, long pants, rubber gloves and boots, and eye protection when mixing and applying chemicals. When finished dusting or spraying, wash hands and clothes and rinse rubber gloves and boots to eliminate any chemical residue.
• Wash your hands: After completing any garden or lawn project, wash your hands.
For additional information: National Safety Council, www.nsc.org
Submitted by: Staci Spencer
A Week’s Worth of Wellness ~Activities~
Most of us hear the term wellness and assume that it’s something beyond our reach. Or perhaps we think that wellness is only for advanced yogis, holistic doctors, or wellness practitioners, but not us — not everyday people just working the daily grind and living busy lives. But this is where we make the mistake. Wellness is nothing more than small daily choices that lead up to lifelong, very big changes — that’s it. Anyone can achieve wellness.
Aim to get in a 20-30 Minute Walk or Jog
This might sound difficult but is easier than we all think. Getting up just 30 minutes earlier in the morning will give you plenty of time to get in a good walk (or jog). If you like to run, even better, but walking is great too. Moving first thing in the day boosts your serotonin levels, provides energy to the body, and also helps you focus better throughout the day. It is also an easy way to improve your metabolism to help manage your weight.
Lift Something Heavy for 5 Minutes Every Day
How many of you have ever thought, “I don’t have time to lift weights,” or maybe you know you have time, but just don’t enjoy it. Whatever the case, here’s an easy way to combat that issue: Pick something heavy, whether it be a kettlebell, a dumbell, or even a household item you can grasp in your hands that is heavy but still light enough to pick up. Lift one of these items for just five minutes a day, preferably over your head like you would if you were in the gym, along with by your sides to work your arms, and even hold this while you do a few squats too. Resistance training not only improves your metabolism, but also boosts testosterone in the body that improves your sense of motivation, focus, and even your energy. It also aids in strengthening the body, even in just five minutes. If you have time for more great, but if not, five minutes is enough to get you out of breath just enough to get good results. If you can do this three different times throughout the day, you’ve lifted weights for 15 minutes without realizing it.
Don’t Over Sit Your Welcome
Sitting is not as evil as it’s being made out to be now, but it is tremendously important that we don’t “over sit” our welcome. We need to stand more throughout the day, even if that’s while chatting with friends, talking on the phone, or just getting up in between nightly relaxing activities before bed. If you like to watch television, be sure not to sit there for hours on end while doing so. If you work at a computer all day, get up and move around or try to stand and work however possible. Sitting too long makes you tired, can cause brain fog, increases your insulin levels, and slows down your metabolism. It can even lead to a bad mood, and antsy nature. The body likes to move; give it what it needs.
Practice Active Errands and Commutes
When commuting to work throughout the day, running errands or the like, it’s important to be active during those activities when you can. For instance, if you can take the stairs more often, do it. If you can walk to work, do it. If you can park further away at the store, do it. You get the idea. Working in a large city makes it easy for most people, but those that rely on cars and public transportation may have to keep this in mind to prevent easy access to more sitting and less activity.
Do Some Sort of Stretching Per Day
Stretching is one of the most overlooked exercises that improves your mood. It releases muscle tension, prevents muscle cramps, improves lymphatic flow and blood flow that can make you happier and also keep digestion working well. It also prevents muscle stagnation that can just make you feel badly. Stretch in the morning a little and a little more at night before bed. Even just a couple minutes will make you feel better — try it!
Spend a Little Time Outside Daily
Take a stroll around your neighborhood or walk through a local park each day if you live near one. If you have a dog, take them for a five minute spin down the street. Or, maybe you have the option to exercise outside — try it; it’s rejuvenating compared to indoor treadmills! Being active outside, even just for a few minutes, is a great way to enlighten your spirits without even trying. It puts you in touch with nature, which studies show can actually benefit our brains, prevent depression, and exposes us to the most natural source of vitamin D available to us: the sun.
Try Yoga
While not everyone may enjoy yoga, its many benefits are so profound that we should all at least give it a shot. Don’t let yoga intimidate you if it seems out of reach or strange. It’s actually just a fluid way of moving your body, stretching everything out, and being kinder to your body through movement. While a grueling workout at the gym is great for pumping muscles, yoga is a nice change of pace that reduces cortisol in the body. This lowers stress around the clock and reduces insulin spikes that are caused by elevated cortisol levels. Yoga also stimulates lymphatic flow, a key to keeping your body feeling well in more ways than one. Try some beginner You Tube videos; even just 10 minutes is a great place to start!
Source: onegreenplanet.org
Submitted by Lynn Adamson
Fellowships Available for Grad Students
WiNUP believes in doing all it can to help students and professionals with their educational pursuits in support of careers in the utility industry and related fields. The 2022 fellowship application window is currently open, we ask that you help us recruit students to apply and/or apply yourself!
WiNUP offers three annual fellowships for women pursuing a graduate degree:
• The Julia Kiene Fellowship in Electrical Energy ($2,000). This fellowship is named for Electrical Women’s Round Table, Inc. (EWRT) past president Julia Kiene, a former educator and home economist with the Westinghouse Corporation.
• The Lyle Mamer Fellowship ($1,000). This fellowship honors Mamer, who was an associate professor at the University of Tennessee College of Home Economics for 35 years.
• The Louisan Mamer Fellowship ($500). The fellowship was started by Mamer, a member of EWRT and WiNUP from 1948 until her death in 2006. Mamer, who educated rural Americans on electricity uses as an employee of the Rural Electrification Administration back in the 1930s and 1940s, contributed $20,000 to WiNUP before her death. Her generosity enables the organization to fund the fellowship in her name.
Anyone interested can visit the WiNUP website for more details and a link to complete the application. The application will be available on March 8, 2022. Applications must be received by May 1st.
Professional Development Scholarship for WiNUP Member
The WiNUP Professional Development scholarship is awarded annually to a member wishing to further his/her education in a field related to the utility industry through a degree or non-degree program. Visit Online Applications in the Member Section on the WiNUP website for additional information and the application. Applications must be received by May 1st.
For further information, contact WiNUP Executive Director Lisa Morinini at winup.lisa@lkmassociates.com.
WiNUP’s
‘Centennial Celebration’
The Place to be in '23!
Milestone “not-to-be-missed” anniversaries definitely must be penciled in your calendars as soon as possible. Consider this your cue to block Sept. 25-27, 2023, on your calendar now. That’s when WiNUP’s 100th Anniversary conference will be held. The Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino, in Niagara Falls, New York, is the host hotel for our organization’s centennial celebration of elevating, developing and encouraging women in the utility industry.
Niagara Falls is a fitting location to celebrate this milestone occasion. WiNUP’s roots are in New York. In 1923, the seven founding members of Electrical Women’s Round Table, Inc., (WiNUP’s former name) attended an otherwise all-male industry meeting in Henderson Island, New York. After discovering they had similar business needs and career issues, they decided to meet regularly. Within two years, that original group of seven grew to 50 members.
The conference planning committee, headed by Trena Riffle of the West Virginia Chapter and Emily Schilling of the Indiana Chapter, has been working diligently to ensure every aspect of the conference is extraordinary.
Although the conference is still a year-and-a-half away, there are several things you can do now to prepare for the big event:
• Plan to block some extra time before or after the conference and enjoy the area. There’s plenty to see and do around the Niagara Falls area including the Falls (naturally!), an extensive wine trail, excellent restaurants, and historic attractions. If you’re flying, you’ll most likely be flying into nearby Buffalo, New York. You might want to rent a car if you plan to travel around the area.
• Canada is literally right across the river! Fingers crossed that crossing across the border will be easily possible come conference time. So, if you don’t have a passport now, or if you need to renew yours, this would be a good time to do so.
• Spoiler alert: the Awards Banquet will have a Roaring ‘20s (as in 1920s) theme. If you’re inclined to dress to impress in flapper attire, you should start planning your wardrobe now!
• Show your support for WiNUP and help celebrate its 100 years by joining the Century Club. With your $100 donation, you will be recognized for your generosity on WiNUP’s website and receive other exclusive opportunities and benefits (details to be announced soon). Plus, your support will help ensure our 2023 conference is not only a festive celebration of our past, but also an opportunity to prepare us for the challenges of the future. To join the Century Club, visit HERE!
Stay tuned in future newsletters to stay up to date on the upcoming Centennial Celebration WiNUP Conference: The Place to Be in ’23
Submitted by: Lynn Adamson
WiNUP International Mentoring Program
WiNUP is proud to support the successful International Mentoring Program again this year. This is an opportunity available to ALL WiNUP members!
What is the International Mentoring Program?
The WiNUP International Mentoring Program will be a structured opportunity for WiNUP members who are interested in becoming a mentee to receive input, advice, and feedback from experienced leaders (both female and male) within and outside the utility industry. Each mentee will develop skills and knowledge to advance their careers.
Who can participate?
Any active WiNUP member may apply. Please note, due to program constraints, and to provide the best possible experience for all participants, the International Mentoring Program Planning Committee may need to limit the number of mentees.
When will the program begin?
We will begin accepting mentee applications in March 1, 2022. All applications will be due by April 1, 2022.
What days and time will the events be held?
We plan to schedule at least THREE events on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening from 6:00 p.m. (ET) to 7:30 p.m. (ET). The events will be approximately 90 minutes.
How will events be held?
The events will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams.
Who will be the mentors?
Anyone in a leadership role throughout our WiNUP organization and individuals (both female and male) outside of the organization.
Are you interested?
Fantasic! The mentee application can be found in the Members Section on the WiNUP website in the Forms and Applications folder and should be submitted to winupintlmentoring@gmail.com by 5:00PM ET on April 1, 2022.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please email winupintlmentoring@gmail.com.
ArkLaTex Chapter
ArkLaTex WiNUP Chapter supports STEM activity for Girl Scouts troop
- Members donated to cover the cost of the trip for one or more girl scouts!
- The entire troop had their trip paid for from the donations from WiNUP members!
Indiana Chapter
WiNUP Indiana hosts monthly coffee chats to bring members and others together on a specific topic surrounding the theme for 2022 for the Chapter: “Accelerating your growth”. We’d love for other WiNUP members from other Chapters to join us and provide their insights as well. Sign up / RSVP to join one of our monthly chats (the sessions are always the third Friday of the month) on the www.winup.org events page. Hope to see you (virtually) there!
Submitted by: Shelby Leisz
Kentucky Chapter
Appalachian Pregnancy Center: Banquet For Life
One of the last events held before the pandemic hit.... The Appalachian Pregnancy Center hosts an annual banquet. Attendees must pay for a table and there is a silent auction. All proceeds go to the center, which is a non-profit organization that gives money/supplies to young mothers.
An example of the supplies given to young mothers, see picture below. WINUP members are seen assembling baskets given to each client. Baby blankets, diapers, clothing, toys, and more are in the baskets.
Wear RED for Women’s Heart Health
Even though we are “apart”, because of the pandemic, we try to do events “together”. We hosted a virtual event of wearing red together on February 4, 2022 in recognition of “Women’s Heart Health Awareness”. Each member was asked to send in a picture wearing red and share a healthy habit they will focus on with the group.
Some of the healthy habits mentioned to the group were:
- Attending a Zumba class once a week for more movement
- Seeing a DR about the early signs of heart attack/stroke
- Eating less take out
- Eating heart healthy breakfasts like oatmeal with fruit to start the day off right
- & most importantly,….baby snuggles because they release tension and stress!
Submitted by: Bre McCoy & Jess Adkins
Nashville Chapter
~~Professional Development with the Nashville Chapter ~~ In Style at the Corvette Museum
Since the great social drought of 2020 started, we Nashville WiNUP Chapter sisters have been missing the face to face interactions (can anyone say hug, please). So for the annual installation of the 2022 chapter officers and STEM fundraising planning, we wanted our members to re-engage and interact in a new and fun way while learning more about the Tennessee Valley we live in. What better way than to take a tour of the Corvette Museum and study the Corvette Cave-In of 2014. The sink hole made national news, and Corvette has added it to the museum as an exhibit – you can actually peer 30 feet further down into the sinkhole from the exhibit floor! Thankfully there was no loss of life during this natural disaster, but it really shone a light onto the fact that the Mammoth Cave, the largest cave system in the nation at 356 miles, really only has ten walkable miles within it. And innovation continues to expand our knowledge - with the use of lidar 3D scanning technology, we have the opportunity to research the Caves more now than ever before.
After the tour, we had a wonderful time fellowshipping with our ladies and may have even recruited a new potential sister to our chapter while doing so! We rejoiced with ladies who have seen triumphs through 2021, encouraged those who encountered and overcame difficult hurdles, talked about our book club’s growth through Jennie Allen’s Get Out of Your Head and Annie F Downs’ That Sounds Fun. We installed our 2022 chapter officers and discussed new STEM fundraising opportunities to increase our Virginia Clark Memorial Scholarship. This coming March we plan to have Dr. Angelique Adams come lead a book club discussion on her book, You're More than a Diversity Hire. TVA VP Cindy Herron sponsored the purchase of 20 books for the Chapter, and we are asking for in-kind donations to be made for a signed copy to bolster the STEM scholarship coffers. We ended the wonderful day by breaking bread together, holding our annual Dirty Santa gift exchange and our baked goods auction to raise STEM funds. From our chapter to yours, wishing you a wonderful 2022!
North Texas
End of Year Chapter Meeting - Planning for 2022
The North Texas Chapter combined our end of the year chapter meeting with a holiday celebration at The Rustic in Dallas. We enjoyed scrumptious food and precious fellowship while planning for next year. Great things are in store for the North Texas Chapter in 2022!
WEST VIRGINIA
Chapter Member Spotlight
Hannah has been employed by American Electric Power since April, 2018. Her current role with the company is Distribution Project Controls Analyst. Hannah received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Accounting concentration, from West Virginia State University. In addition to being a member of the WV Chapter of WiNUP, she is also a member of the Charleston, WV Chapter of Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD). Hannah is Chapter Secretary for WV and has jump into her new role feet first. Her dedication to member outreach has been wonderful. We look forward to seeing her rise with WiNUP.
Race to End Racism
YWCA 6th annual Race to End Racism is back in-person this year. Get ready, get set, and mark those calendars for April 23, 2022 at Magic Island! Together, we will raise critical funds for YWCA Racial Equity & Inclusion Program.
Submitted by: Erica Young
INTERNATIONAL FUNDRAISER
The WiNUP International Ways and Means Committee is selling Bangle bracelets with a WiNUP charm for $20.00 (includes shipping). The bangles are made of stainless steel and include a nickel-plated charm. If you already purchased a bracelet or necklace and want to purchase just the charms, the charms can be purchased for $10.00 (includes shipping). To purchase the bracelet with charm or just the charm, click here.
Member Spotlight
Dean Van Horne is the Director of Customer Care at Texas Water Utilities (business unit of SouthWest Water) and has been in the Water Utility Industry for almost 13 years. Although Dean has only been a member of WiNUP for two years, he has supported employees as members for eight years. Once he realized that WiNUP accepted male members, he wanted to further support WiNUP as an organization because he had seen all the benefits provided to its members. Dean sees great value in having his staff participate in WiNUP because of the great networking and developmental opportunities that become invaluable as his team progresses in their career. The most fulfilling experience for him is watching how the opportunities WiNUP provides can excel a member’s development. He has seen member’s grow as professionals simply by leveraging everything WiNUP has to offer. His advice to new members – take full advantage of the opportunities WiNUP provides and become fully engaged. It may be cliché, but your WiNUP experience will be as fulfilling as you make it.
When Dean is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, which now includes six grandchildren.
Thank you, Dean, for being a champion for WiNUP!
Submitted by: Staci Spencer
The History of WiNUP
Part 5
This is the fifth article in our series exploring the almost 100-year history of WiNUP. Information, quotes and context are from “From Acorns to Oaks: The story of the Women’s International Network of Utility Professionals and the Electrical Women’s Round Table” Version 3, © 2015 by Women’s International Network of Utility Professionals, Inc.
I’ve got a woman’s ability to stick to a job and get on with it when everyone else walks off and leaves it. ~ Margaret Thatcher
In 2021, we began the exploration of WiNUP’s history, going back to its origins in the Roaring ‘20s a time of unprecedented opportunity for women, who, armed with their newly minted right to vote, were taking their first tentative steps into the working world.
In the coming decades, women’s fortunes would rise and fall with the momentous events of the times: While marked by the deprivations of the Great Depression, this era also saw the vast expansion of access to electricity, and women in the electrical field were the perfect advocates for the many new domestic gadgets that eased homemakers’ burdens. During World War II, women were drafted into the work force, replacing the men sent to war, but the heady days of workplace dominance quickly ended as soldiers returned, and America returned women to more traditional roles.
The technological marvels of the mid-century domicile gave women more free time than ever. As they sought outlets for their spare time and talents, many taking up social causes, their children, especially their daughters, began dream of a future where a girl could become a “career woman.” Even as the conflict in Vietnam deepened into war, and civil unrest against injustice became a common sight, the Space Age showed us a whole new vision of the earth and the frontiers that awaited us. Like EWRT’s founders, female Baby Boomers had vision and faith in the contributions women could make to society.
The later half of the century saw a time of increased consumerism as the technologies used by the military and NASA began to rush into the commercial and industrial spheres, but this productivity had a terrible cost. People woke up to the environmental devastation around them, especially in places like California with its smog and in the Steel Belt of the Midwest, where lakes and rivers were catching on fire and poisoning people.
These dire portents from Mother Nature and even Cold War fears of nuclear war could not dampen American’s enthusiasm make and buy and the 1980s often are remembered for materialism and consumerism. The decade ushered in the rise of the “yuppie” and MTV. By 1982, the U.S. was mired in recession, with unemployment reaching more than 10 percent and saw the rise of “Reaganomics.” Despite the economic and geo-political struggles that would last through the decade, there were bright spots in the gloom for the economy, women, and technology.
On the economic front, Congress implemented the trickle-down economic theory by passing a massive five-year $750 million tax cut in the hopes that more spending by the rich would benefit the poor and middle class by creating jobs to meet their demand. By 1989, the Labor Department reported economic growth of 3.8 percent and an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent.
On the technology front, IBM introduced its first personal computer in 1981 and launched its Windows computer operating system in 1985. Apple’s first commercially successful PC, the Macintosh, was unveiled in 1984, setting off an intense rivalry that continues to this day. The 1982 Knoxville World’s Fair was an energy exposition foretelling the burgeoning role miniaturized tech would take on in our everyday lives. When General Electric acquired RCA for $6.28 billion, it heralded the beginning of a new era where the race for smaller-faster-cheaper would leave many once-pioneers and visionaries behind.
For women, the 80’s looked like it might finally put women on equal footing with men, even though the Equal Rights Amendment had failed to meet its 1979 ratification deadline. More than 50% of the bachelor’s degrees were awarded to women and women graduates made up 50% of the master’s degrees programs.
With color televisions and cable access in most homes, sitcoms, movies and music videos, showed us women who “had it all” with careers and families. Movies like 9 to 5 and Norma Rae highlighted women’s issues in the workplace and showed women as leaders in resolving them, reflecting the decade’s many notable firsts: Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court; Geraldine Ferraro became the first vice presidential candidate; and Sally Ride became the first American woman astronaut to travel into space. Freedom for women in their personal lives was embodied by icons as diverse as Mary Lou Retton and Madonna.
Along with unprecedented computing power in our homes, the Space Shuttle gave us all hope that airline style space travel was around the corner until the tragic Challenger accident took seven brave lives, and Christa McAuliffe and Judith Resnik became the first women to die in space and were recognized alongside their male counterparts as American heroes.
As overseas competition began to grow in the nascent years of globalization, shuttered factories began to turn the once vibrant Midwest Steel Belt into the Rust Belt. The recession wore on, bringing the combined problems of a growing population and aging infrastructure into focus but offering no easy solution and no funds for modernization.
The energy sector was at the heart of this economic turmoil. After the oil embargo of the 70’s, the first half of the decade saw intense interest solar and the search for cleaner energy that offered independence from world markets was on. Nuclear looked like the answer until nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl combined with Cold War fears of nuclear World War III to put a lasting fear and distrust in the public mind about the safety of nuclear power.
As in the 50 years before, the Electrical Women's Round Table (EWRT), and later WiNUP supported women, whether by promoting and educating homemakers about the many benefits and uses of electricity, or by providing a voice and platform for professional women to ensure their inclusion in the electrical workplace through chapter membership and newsletters.
The Greater Houston Chapter became the third chapter in Texas, joining North Texas and South Texas. This new chapter reflected both the state’s sheer size and the many women across Texas interested in EWRT. It was chartered in 1987 with eight members, including EWRT’s National President Lynn White. White (25th ,1988-89). At the time, she was Family Science Program Leader for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and would later become chief financial officer and marketing manager of Industrial Fire World Magazine.
Greater Houston’s territory included Houston, Beaumont, College Station, Huntsville, Conroe and a few others in the southeastern corner of the state. The redefined South Texas area included areas south of Waco and generally west of U.S. Route 77, though unfortunately, the distance still was too great, and the chapter folded in 1989.
The ULF Coast Chapter was chartered in 1989 with 22 members hailing from the Gulf Coast of Florida. As with Greater Houston, efforts to sustain the Gulf Coast Chapter were not successful, and it folded in 1992.
Despite starting off with an intense interest in renewable energy, the energy sector could not escape the gravitational pull of economic and infrastructure woes, and EWRT membership reflected the impact. Nine other chapters were lost in the 1980s, including Inland Empire, Utah, St. Joseph, Chicago, Red River Valley, Los Angeles, Puget Sound, Oregon and Philadelphia. Several members from these disbanded chapters joined the Members-at-Large Chapter or other nearby chapters. As EWRT turned the corner into 1990, there were only 15 chapters.
The rise of popular culture continued to dominate American lives and brought into focus the confluence of recession at home, globalization abroad, and environmental destruction on a planetary scale. Movies, music videos, video games, and the rise of television news began to have an outsized influence on societal mores. Consumerism, geo-political struggles, and the early years of the tech boom would combine to send the first seismic tremors through American society, signaling the world-shaking changes that would occur with the birth of 24-hour news and the internet as the 1990s ushered in the close of the century the dawn of a new millennium.
Submitted by: Molly Long
