ICWES-II, The Need to Continue: Cambridge, UK, July 1–9, 1967

The second International Conference of Women and Scientists (ICWES-II) was held in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in 1967. It was hosted by the Women Engineering Society (WES), an organization founded in 1919 to promote the study and practice of engineering among women and to enable technical women to meet and exchange ideas. The Conference had two themes: “The Application of Technology to World Food Problems” and the “Woman Professional Engineer.” It focused on finding ways to increase world food production to meet the growing demand generated by population growth. The participation of women engineers and scientists to solve these problems was considered, as part of a wider discussion on the current and future status of women engineers throughout the world. A critical part of the conference was devoted to the business meeting to discuss the future of the conference series, with representatives from six supporting societies and UNESCO present, along with one representative from each country. The group was unanimously in favor of continuing to hold ICWES meetings every three years, with the conference venue moving across the world. They also hoped to secure the financial support from UNESCO. Through a series of testimonials dedicated to ICWES-II, several participants praised the organizers of the first two conferences and insisted on the need for more meetings to promote the exchange of knowledge among women engineers.