Renetta Tull, associate vice provost for graduate student development and postdoctoral affairs, spoke at the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which was held at the United Nations in New York City in March. Her remarks focused on one of her core areas of research and advocacy: boosting the representation of women in engineering education and careers worldwide.

“It was an honor to be invited by UNESCO to speak about women in engineering at the headquarters of the United Nations,” Tull said. “I am passionate about global diversity in STEM, and to have an opportunity to be a spokesperson for inclusion in engineering, on a ‘world stage’ is a dream come true.”

Tull described, through her talk, how the number of women pursuing degrees and careers in engineering is low across the board, and the numbers are particularly concerning when it comes to women from underrepresented minority groups. She explored approaches to increasing the representation of women in engineering fields, including supporting women on their path to becoming professors, to inspire and teach the next generation of women in engineering.

“I am a proud engineer, and I appreciate UMBC for providing the foundational support for me to be recognized as one of the rising global leaders who is given a voice and space to promote STEM equity and access,” she said.

Tull was recently named vice president of initiatives for the Latin and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions, an international engineering organization.

Read coverage of Tull’s UNESCO address in Foreign Policy News, and Tull’s recap of the experience on her blog.

Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.