With generation Y taking over the workforce, many organizations are reevaluating their membership policies to make them more enticing to millennials.

One of the biggest problems associations face is that a lot of information and resources they provide to members are available on the internet, thus diminishing a key benefit to belonging to such organizations.

While many see this as detrimental to the future of membership organizations, Pennsylvania State University Brandywine professor Laura Guertin, a member of and blogger for the American Geophysical Union (AGU), assures us that memberships still have an important purpose.

Highlighting results from a November 2014 membership survey by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Guertin notes a significant gap that the survey appeared to overlook.

“One significant role professional societies play that was not reflected in this survey is to increase recognition, opportunities for leadership, and so much more for underrepresented groups,” she writes at AGU’s GeoEd Trek blog.

Guertin points to the Geological Society of America, whose membership at the time of the survey was 35 percent female.

“Work still needs to be done when it comes to the general demographics of membership in STEM organizations,” she adds.

With representation equal for all members, organizations help those looking to grow in an industry get a leg up, Guertin argues.

A Campaign Picks Up Steam

Crazy lines in #Vegas at the #airport! #TSA #TSAfail #iHateTheWait #omg pic.twitter.com/pJNlQU5yX2

— Michael Kuluva (@MichaelKuluva) May 13, 2016

#IHatetheWait is getting lots of attention. The hashtag campaign, launched by Airlines for America this month, has received roughly 1,000 tweets so far, according to Skift, as travelers stuck in security lines have taken to using the hashtag to let off some steam. Above is a tweet from fashion designer Michael Kuluva, a verified Twitter user who used the hashtag in speaking up to his 144,000 Twitter followers.

Other Good Reads

Everyone’s talking about the internet of things, but how will it actually affect your association? Amanda Myers, director of product marketing at Abila, explains what organizations should expect from growth of interconnectedness.

Should news organizations move to a nonprofit model? On Medium, Michael Marinaccio outlines the case, made by economics professor Julia Cagé, for media making this radical change.

Google recently changed its algorithm. Is your association caught in the crosshairs? Forbes contributor Jayson DeMers explains the new update.

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