Shaping the face and the voice of TMS: You can help to ensure all demographics are represented

Abstract

At this very moment, you are reading JOM—and you’re not the only one. Every month, JOM is mailed to each TMS member, with electronic access for student members. Some members read it cover to cover, and others skim it for topics of interest, whether news, member information, or technical articles. Surveys perennially rank JOM as one of the top TMS member benefits, and JOM’s impact factor exceeds many materials technical journals. TMS members read JOM. TMS members also write JOM. They submit technical papers, news releases, interviews, job openings, letters to the editor, obituaries, and perspectives like this one. JOM provides a way for TMS members to connect with each other. JOM is the voice of TMS. As our voice, JOM should reflect our community: the diverse membership of TMS. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. A few months ago, I opened JOM to find that not a single contributor was a woman, even though the TMS professional membership is now about 10% female. Likewise, contributions by our international members do not reflect their member numbers. Younger members are also underrepresented. Overall, contributors to JOM better reflect our traditional membership than our current membership. Interestingly, a number of other member benefits show the same imbalance. The TMS Awards program is one of the most visible, public faces of TMS. People who may not otherwise be involved with TMS—people like your boss—take note of our prestigious awards. Yet in the 89 years since the establishment of our first society-level award, women have won TMS’s pinnacle technical awards only twice, and only five women are TMS Fellows. At Shaping the Face and the Voice of TMS: You Can Help to Ensure All Demographics are Represented