Introduction

Ever since its founding in 1971, the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) has been a passionate organization with a mission: to encourage women to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences.¹ Largely through the devotion and energy of a few overcommitted but determined individuals, especially its past presidents and officers, AWM has flourished for almost three decades. The inexhaustible enthusiasm and inspiring example of the early AWM volunteers (e.g., first founding president Mary Gray²) set the standard for extensive donations of time and energy by those who followed. As a result, the Association has become an effective voice and vehicle for the advancement of women in the mathematical sciences.

1991 Schafer Prize honorees, including prizewinner Jeanne Nielsen Clelland (third from right), with 1973-75 AWM president Alice T. Schafer (fourth from left) and 1991-93 AWM president Carol Wood (fourth from right).

At the outset, the initials AWM stood for the “Association of Women in Mathematics”, but soon “of” was changed to “for”. Men have been instrumental in the growth and prestige of AWM; about seven percent of the approximately 4,500 members are male. Men give varied reasons for their membership, such as “to help me see what is available for women in mathematics and enable me to better mentor female students,” or “to show support for women in mathematics”. Many are motivated by a basic sense of justice and/or the belief that all of society stands to benefit from developing the mathematical talents of women. As one member explains, “If any group is subjected to willful or accidental discrimination, all of society is the victim [because society is deprived of the talents and potential accomplishments of that group].”

To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of AWM, Lenore Blum wrote an exuberant article for the Notices in which she described how AWM grew from a small shaky beginning in 1971, when women were “invisible”—jobs were scarce for women, as were positions on the programs of meetings and conferences—to 1991, when, according to Carol Wood, women were “everywhere dense”.³ Blum’s article recorded the dramatic improvements in the situation for women since 1971 and described the activities of AWM which contributed to these improvements. By 1991 the Association was a widely respected organization with a large influence internationally: AWM had a professional newsletter, an extensive program at the January Joint Meetings, and various projects for encouraging younger women to study mathematics. As AWM nears the end of its third decade, it is an opportune time to update that article.

A major source for this article is the last decade of AWM Newsletters (referenced in abbreviated fashion, for example, with “[JF93]” signifying the January-February 1993 issue). Former AWM presidents and other AWM friends contributed information and verification. AWM member Elizabeth Allman conducted and transcribed interviews with several younger mathematicians. The choice of what to include, however, was that of the authors, and the opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent AWM.⁴ The authors thank Elizabeth Allman, Lenore Blum, Anthony Knapp, Eric Macris, Judith Roitman, Roger Wiegand, and the reviewers for their help with this article.

Footnotes

More generally, AWM promotes equal opportunity and equal treatment for women and other underrepresented groups in mathematics. In this article, “mathematical sciences” is often abbreviated as “mathematics”.
At the 1991 January Joint Meetings, Mary Gray was honored with a special citation: “It is especially fitting that Mary Gray be honored at the Twentieth Anniversary meeting of AWM, since she is the one person most responsible for the existence of this organization; for years her name was virtually synonymous with AWM” [MA91].
Lenore Blum, A Brief History of the Association for Women in Mathematics: The Presidents’ Perspectives, Notices, September 1991, Volume 38, Number 7, pages 738-774. This article was also printed in [ND91] and [JF92].
An opportunity is available for people to comment—join the discussion moderated by Elizabeth Allman.

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