Can't we just all be entomologists?

We want to live in a world where gender makes no difference to our lives as entomologists and scientists. We argue that the need for a Women in Entomology Network, even perhaps all those networks celebrating the ethnic and geographic diversity of our profession, should be obsolete.  And indeed the number of women in the Entomological Society of America has swelled substantially over the last 40 years, but recognition and encouragement of women in our science still lags.  In 2012, the ESA was invited to participate with pioneering scientific discipline societies in a National Science Foundation workshop about their AWARDS (Advancing Ways of Awarding Recognition in Discipline Societies©) efforts, so we might assess our status in promoting gender diversity, and to discuss the tools found to be successful by the original grantee societies http://ow.ly/kiCtG.  While we look forward to a day when we can all just be entomologists, our network still has a vital role to play in promoting career and leadership opportunities for women in entomology.