Caucus for Women in Statistics Celebrates 50 Years

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Caucus for Women in Statistics (CWS), an international professional statistical society formed in 1971 for the education, employment, and advancement of women in statistics.

In the 50 years since the caucus was founded, it has formed close ties with other professional societies, including the ASA, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, Statistical Society of Canada, International Statistical Institute, International Biometric Society, International Chinese Statistical Association, International Indian Statistical Association, Korean International Statistical Society, and Western North American Region of the International Biometric Society. CWS has also built a network of more than 300 students and professional statisticians in addition to co-founding the Women in Statistics and Data Science Conference (WSDS) and sponsoring many of its sessions.

Wendy Lou, 2020 CWS president, created the CWS Societal Impact Award to recognize the impact statisticians have on society at large. Current CWS president, Tomi Mori, plans to make 2021 special by engaging with past CWS presidents and members, connecting them with current and future members, and passing on CWS history to the next generation.

Through this growing network of statisticians across academia, industry, and government, the caucus has made strides in the past 50 years in advancing the careers of women statisticians through advocacy, providing resources and learning opportunities, increasing professional participation and visibility, and promoting and assessing research that affects women statisticians.

To mark the 50th anniversary of CWS, a variety of celebratory events have been planned, including a virtual conference, invited sessions at the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) and WSDS, a special CWS event at JSM, a CWS giving day, an electronic time capsule predicting what the statistics field will look like in 50 years, essay and poster competitions for K–12 students, and a series of events to gather the community and celebrate each other.

The Madam Presidents Happy Hour takes place over Zoom on the fourth Thursday of each month from 3–4 p.m. ET. It is open to all and allows those who participate to get to know past CWS presidents and connect with others. Also, the CWS Past Presidents Interview Series is on YouTube. Currently, interviews are available with Ji-Hyun Lee (2017 president) and Stephanie Shipp (1992 president), both interviewed by ASA Director of Strategic Initiatives and Outreach Donna LaLonde.