Atlanta, Georgia — The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has joined forces with fellow international organizations to launch the International Network for Women in Cooling (INWIC).
The INWIC was created to advance career opportunities for women in the cooling sector and increase the overall participation of women in the cooling industry, including refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat pumps (RACHP).
“ASHRAE is committed to providing a welcoming environment to all people and celebrates its diverse culture through an active global membership,” said Mick Schwedler, ASHRAE’s 2021-22 president, P.E., fellow ASHRAE, LEED AP.
INWIC will look to connect women in the cooling sector, empowering success through networking, mentoring, education and opportunities to shine as visible role models, fostering a lasting legacy to inspire the next generation of women innovators and problem solvers.
Along with ASHRAE, this initiative is led by the World Refrigeration Day (WRD) Secretariat and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction.
Several influential organizations representing the global building industry have been involved in the creation of the organization. Women in HVACR represented the North American market.
In the coming months, the INWIC initiative’s founding partners will introduce several programs that support individual women and young girls to further engage and find opportunities that can support career advancement, exposure to cooling education disciplines and active engagement with the cooling community.
“There are not enough visible ‘women in cooling’ role models. We want to change that,” said Stephen Gill, head of the WRD Secretariat.
An essential role of the INWIC initiative is to serve as a platform to promote environmental stewardship within the cooling sector. This includes proper and safe management of refrigerants like HFCs, HCFCs, hydrocarbons and new alternatives.
Goals for that initiative feature, gender equality for women, including equality of opportunity, improved livelihoods through job creation and employment, making cities and people’s lives more sustainable, and climate adaptation and mitigation.