Since its founding on April 1902, The Electrochemical Society has supported a diverse community of scientists and engineers who have participated in the meetings, published in the journals and who have been recognized for their achievements through the ECS awards program. ECS is a global community with members, authors and meeting attendees residing in 80 countries. The ECS community is a broad association of researchers with experience ranging from students to world-recognized scientists whose affiliations represent a healthy mix of government, academia and industry research institutions. The ECS community is multidisciplinary with participants from an extensive scope of technical interests connected to the field of electrochemical and solid-state science and technology. Finally, after four decades of progress, the ECS Community is diverse with significant female achievement through participation in the programs and leadership of the organization.

Female diversity in ECS essentially began with the election of the first female Vice President Joan Berkowitz in 1976. After her service as Vice President, she was elected as the first female President and Board Chair leading ECS in that role from 1979-80. Former ECS Executive Director Roque Calvo, began working at ECS when Dr. Berkowitz was finishing her service on the Board. During his 38-year career he had the opportunity to work with the six distinguished female ECS Presidents including: Kathryn Bullock (1995-96), Jan Talbot (2001-02), Robin Susko (2004-05), Esther Takeuchi (2011-12), and Johna Leddy (2017-18). Additionally, he worked with five female leaders who were elected to the Office of ECS Secretary or Treasurer; all of which provided him with the opportunity to collaborate with these dynamic women leaders as they influenced change and progress in ECS.

Based on his experience as an ECS staff member during this era of change, Roque Calvo will reflect on the unique contributions of these female leaders and those of several others like Geraldine Schwartz from the 1^st Class of ECS Fellows, who worked behind the scenes to advance the Society’s mission. Their collective influence has led to significant growth and development of ECS programs and further stimulated diversity and inclusion in the organization. From the beginning, it was evident that the ECS community placed great importance on inclusiveness and diversity. These values are reflected in the ECS objectives, activities, governance, staff and culture of the organization and are critical components of the Society’s success and accomplishments. Since Joan Berkowitz’s pioneering role as the first female President, women leaders have had a major impact on the Society’s success in achieving its’ primary mission…to advance electrochemical and solid-state science and technology.