August 5, 2021
NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health Statement onAnnouncement of Winners of the NIH Prize forEnhancing Faculty Gender Diversity in Biomedical and Behavioral Science
Efforts to Foster More Inclusive and Equitable Environments in Academia to Be Recognized
The NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health is pleased to announce the winners of the NIH Prize forEnhancing Faculty Gender Diversity in Biomedical and Behavioral Science. These 10 organizations haveacted to effect systemic change to improve gender diversity and equity among faculty members within
their biomedical and behavioral science departments, centers, or divisions and have each been
awarded $50,000:••••••••••WISELI: A Wise Approach to Gender Equity, Women in Science and Engineering Leadership
Institute (WISELI), University of Wisconsin–Madison
A Framework to Promote Gender Diversity & Equity, Rochester Institute of Technology
Promoting Women of Diverse Creative Expertise, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
No One Size Fits All: FOCUS’s Mosaic of Initiatives, Perelman School of Medicine, University ofPennsylvania
Participatory Approaches for Gender Equity: CWIMS, Center for Women in Medicine andScience, University of Minnesota Medical School
Enhancing Faculty Gender Diversity at MD Anderson; Office of Faculty Diversity, Equity andInclusion; University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
FIU ADVANCE; Office to Advance Women, Equity & Diversity; Florida International University
Leveraging Evidence to Enhance Faculty Diversity, University of Houston
Gender Diversity in Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Achieving Gender Equity at Boston University, Trustees of Boston University, Boston University
Medical Campus

ORWH also recognizes the following submissions as honorable mentions for their commitment togender diversity:••••••Intersectional Directions: Faculty Success @XULA, Xavier University of Louisiana
Colorado Trails to Advance Gender Diversity, University of Colorado School of Medicine,Anschutz Medical Campus
Women in Medicine and Science Program, Office of Faculty Affairs, Wake Forest School ofMedicine
University of Chicago: Using 3 R’s to Elevate Women, Department of Medicine Women’s
Committee, University of Chicago
Promoting Women Scientists during COVID and Beyond, Mass General Brigham, Harvard
Medical School
Eye of the Tiger: Women with a Will to Thrive, Alliance for Women in Medicine and Science(AWIMS), Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

NIH has a long-standing commitment to supporting a diverse biomedical workforce; this includes
ORWH’s 30 years of work to advance women in biomedical careers. Our ultimate goal is to foster more
inclusive and equitable environments in academia so women in biomedical and other STEMM careers,
including women of color, reach their full potential. Currently, in the United States, women enter
graduate studies in the life sciences at about the same rate as men. After earning their degrees andentering careers in academia, however, women are underrepresented at the faculty level in biomedicalsciences, particularly in mid- and senior-level positions. Similarly, women account for less than 20% of
medical school deans and department chairs, despite constituting roughly half of medical school
students.
Through the prize competition aimed at increasing gender diversity among faculty members at colleges
and universities, NIH fosters supportive, inclusive, and equitable environments in which women faculty
members can further their careers in the biomedical and biobehavioral sciences. Advancing women into
leadership roles in the sciences is critical to producing good science. Diversity in the scientific workplace
generates more innovative solutions; diverse teams are more productive and produce more impactfulresearch.
Please join ORWH on October 5 for a forum, Effective Approaches to Fostering Faculty Gender Diversity,Equity, and Inclusion: Celebrating Progress. By recognizing and promoting the winners’ effective,
evidence-based practices, NIH aims to address challenges and improve the existing career paradigm formany women in these fields.
— Janine Austin Clayton, M.D., FARVO, Director, NIH Office of Research on Women’s
Health, NIH Associate Director for Research on Women’s Health2