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Where is the IET going?

RayC
The IET on Twitter is mostly about women in engineering and it appears we also have or have had an Executive member who represents the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK). Since when did we get away and direct our selves at subsections of the organization? There is no minorities that I am aware of in the IET at least not because of bias in any way shape of form. The same goes for women in engineering, no one is biased against them. Low numbers are because they dont want to be in engineering..

Where is the IET heading? It does not seem to be going in a place most of the member wold probably want or is it?
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    Just for clarification, I’m not an IET Spokesperson, I am offering a personal opinion. I am currently an employee of the IET, which obviously involves an obligation of loyalty and respect for all members, but I have also been a paid up member since joining IEEIE in 1982.  If the IET doesn’t listen to it members then it has an even bigger problem, than not being able to explain its value proposition to some of them. 


    My general point is, that it is impossible to offer equal value to every member everywhere with every specialist interest.  Probably the largest group of members with a single shared characteristic is our Chartered Engineers and for many of them this is value enough. Some employers have policies of paying fees anyway. Apprentice and Student Membership is offered at a low cost, although that is also often picked up by the employer or university. For those with access to London, Savoy Place is a superb asset that members are rightly very proud of.  The IET has a very large paying membership , but also a concerning amount of “churn”, which indicates either some active dissatisfaction or apathy and unwillingness to pay. I have attended local network events in a number of locations and the age profile of attendees is generally high, so younger members who don’t go might complain that they are subsidising a “retired engineers club”. In fact almost everybody probably grumbles that they are paying for someone else    ?. What many members don’t realise is that some IET activities earn a profit, which helps to underpin charitable “not for profit” activities, like local events, prizes, bursaries, work with schools etc. Opinions about all of this are perfectly reasonable, but those decisions are “above my pay grade”.  I assume but wasn’t involved, that the Teacher Building decision was taken because it couldn’t pay its way.


    I agree about the principle of equal treatment on gender or other grounds and UK law requires this, unless you are a “private club” https://www.scotsman.com/sport/golf/panmure-is-latest-scottish-golf-club-to-admit-women-members-1-4736067   

    I also agree that we shouldn’t supress debate or condemn different critical perspectives. As I am frequently reminded by my wife, I don’t understand women    ?. If a prize were being proposed with limited eligibility then there is a perfectly reasonable discussion to be had about what purpose it is intended to serve. If that purpose is to encourage any group that is disadvantaged or underrepresented, then it’s a no brainer for me. If and when the disadvantage or underrepresentation disappears then the purpose is redundant.    

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    Just for clarification, I’m not an IET Spokesperson, I am offering a personal opinion. I am currently an employee of the IET, which obviously involves an obligation of loyalty and respect for all members, but I have also been a paid up member since joining IEEIE in 1982.  If the IET doesn’t listen to it members then it has an even bigger problem, than not being able to explain its value proposition to some of them. 


    My general point is, that it is impossible to offer equal value to every member everywhere with every specialist interest.  Probably the largest group of members with a single shared characteristic is our Chartered Engineers and for many of them this is value enough. Some employers have policies of paying fees anyway. Apprentice and Student Membership is offered at a low cost, although that is also often picked up by the employer or university. For those with access to London, Savoy Place is a superb asset that members are rightly very proud of.  The IET has a very large paying membership , but also a concerning amount of “churn”, which indicates either some active dissatisfaction or apathy and unwillingness to pay. I have attended local network events in a number of locations and the age profile of attendees is generally high, so younger members who don’t go might complain that they are subsidising a “retired engineers club”. In fact almost everybody probably grumbles that they are paying for someone else    ?. What many members don’t realise is that some IET activities earn a profit, which helps to underpin charitable “not for profit” activities, like local events, prizes, bursaries, work with schools etc. Opinions about all of this are perfectly reasonable, but those decisions are “above my pay grade”.  I assume but wasn’t involved, that the Teacher Building decision was taken because it couldn’t pay its way.


    I agree about the principle of equal treatment on gender or other grounds and UK law requires this, unless you are a “private club” https://www.scotsman.com/sport/golf/panmure-is-latest-scottish-golf-club-to-admit-women-members-1-4736067   

    I also agree that we shouldn’t supress debate or condemn different critical perspectives. As I am frequently reminded by my wife, I don’t understand women    ?. If a prize were being proposed with limited eligibility then there is a perfectly reasonable discussion to be had about what purpose it is intended to serve. If that purpose is to encourage any group that is disadvantaged or underrepresented, then it’s a no brainer for me. If and when the disadvantage or underrepresentation disappears then the purpose is redundant.    

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