ADVANCE
 

Increasing the Participation and

Advancement of Women in Academic

Science and Engineering Careers

NSF ADVANCE web site: www.nsf.gov/advance

ADVANCE web portal: www.advance­portal.net

Send inquiries to: advance@nsf.gov
Background

The goal of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) ADVANCE program is to increase

the representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering

careers, thereby developing a more diverse science and engineering workforce.

ADVANCE encourages institutions of higher education and the broader science,

technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) community, including professional

societies and other STEM­related, not­for­profit organizations, to address various aspects

of STEM academic culture and institutional structure that may differentially affect women

faculty and academic administrators. As such, ADVANCE is an integral part of the NSF’s

multifaceted strategy to broaden participation in the STEM workforce, and it supports

the critical role of the Foundation in advancing the status of women in STEM academic

careers.

For many decades, an increasing number of women have obtained STEM doctoral

degrees, yet women continue to be significantly underrepresented in almost all STEM

academic positions. The degree of underrepresentation varies among STEM disciplines,

although women’s advancement to senior ranks and leadership is an issue in all fields.

Research* has shown that women’s representation and advancement in academic STEM

positions are affected by many external factors that are unrelated to their ability, interest,

and technical skills, such as:

• Organizational constraints of academic institutions;

• Differential effects of work and family demands;

• Implicit and explicit bias; and

• Underrepresentation of women in academic leadership and decision­making positions.

The cumulative effect of such diverse factors has been to create barriers that impact the

number of women entering and advancing in academic STEM careers.

* A summary of the relevant research can be found in the 2007 National Academies’ report Beyond Bias and

Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering.
ADVANCE Program

ADVANCE was established in 2001 when the NSF’s Office of the Director allocated funding to

its directorates and offices to support the program. The current supporting directorates and

offices are:

Directorate for Biological Sciences Directorate for Mathematical & Physical
 

Sciences
 Directorate for Computer & Information
 

Science & Engineering Directorate for Social, Behavioral &
 

Economic Sciences
 Directorate for Education & Human
 

Resources Office of Cyberinfrastructure
 

Directorate for Engineering Office of International Science & Engineering

Directorate for Geosciences Office of Polar Programs

This NSF­wide model continues to be the basis for the program’s budget and management

processes, with representatives from the participating NSF directorates and offices serving

on the ADVANCE Implementation Committee (AIC). Since 2001, NSF has invested over

$135M to support ADVANCE projects at more than one hundred different institutions of

higher education and STEM­related, not­for­profit organizations in forty­one states, the

District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (including twenty­four Experimental Program to

Stimulate Competitive Research, EPSCoR, jurisdictions).

The ADVANCE program currently supports the following types of projects:

Institutional Transformation (IT) supports comprehensive, institution­wide projects at

institutions of higher education to transform institutional practices and climate. These

projects must be based on the relevant social science literature. This organizational

approach was identified as an important strategy by NSF because research indicates

that the lack of women’s full participation in science and engineering academic careers

is often a systemic consequence of the academic culture and organizational structure

of institutions of higher education.

IT­Catalyst supports self­assessment activities at institutions of higher education, such as

basic data collection and analysis and the review of relevant policies and procedures, to

provide the foundation necessary to undertake institutional transformation. Piloted in 2008

as IT­Start, this component is intended to increase the diversity of the types of universities

and colleges ready to undertake institutional transformation. As a result of the pilot, eleven

awards were made to institutions including predominately undergraduate institutions,

minority­serving institutions, and a university with a significant population of disabled students.

Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation, and Dissemination (PAID) supports

institutions of higher education, professional societies, and/or other STEM­related, not­forprofit organizations to undertake projects that vary in size and scope. PAID projects are

designed to broadly share lessons learned from institutional transformation projects, and

also to provide information and training about gender in academic careers. For example,

PAID projects may adapt IT strategies to new types of institutions and/or disseminate

relevant research, strategies, tools, and materials to various audiences.
s

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ADVANCE Strategies

ADVANCE Institutional Transformation awardees have developed and implemented many strateg

faculty and leadership positions. Many of the ADVANCE PAID and Leadership awards have adap

strategies, tools, and materials to various audiences.

Detailed information about the particular strategies of ADVANCE institutions, including the institu

web sites through the ADVANCE web portal (www.advance­portal.net). It is important to note tha

Institutional Structure: Universities and colleges often have organizational barriers

that can negatively impact the participation of women and other underrepresented

individuals in academic careers.

• Review, revise, and increase the transparency and effective implementation of

policies and procedures (particularly recruitment, promotion, and tenure policies).

• Develop systematic and recurring institutional data collection and reporting of

faculty data and climate surveys, disaggregated by demographics and rank,

for use in decision­making.

• Incorporate equity and diversity responsibilities and accountability into institutionwide administrative positions, departmental leadership, and faculty to ensure

equitable distribution of resources, responsibilities, and commitment.

Work­Life Support: Retention of both female and male faculty is closely related to

satisfaction with work­life balance. Women are disproportionally impacted by work­life

issues because female scientists and engineers are much more likely to have a

dual­career partner in science and engineering than their male colleagues and

because women continue to have a larger share of dependent­care responsibilities.

• Implement flexible career policies that address needs identified by the community.

• Develop career and life transition support programs.

• Establish dual­career hiring programs tailored to the institution and region.

• Encourage department and institutional flexibility and support for dependent­care

responsibilities.

• Create institutional and departmental climates that encourage faculty to take

advantage of work­life programs and ensure that there are no negative impacts on

a faculty member’s career for participating in the programs.

In addition to creating a more equitable environment for women, ADVANCE IT awardees have r

• The strategies that work to recruit, retain, and promote women in STEM academic positions

and persons with disabilities, as well as for men that now enter the work force with a greate

• The cost­benefit analysis of work­life programs indicates that the modest costs of these pro

• The institutions that have undertaken transformational activities are discovering that they ar

that have not implemented such activities.

1980 1982 198

Congress passes the Science & Technology Equal First NSF publication of statistics on women in NSF Visiting Professor

Opportunities Act of 1980 Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering and Engi
u

8

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gies to address organizational factors that impact women’s representation in academic STEM

ted these approaches within different types of institutions or disseminated related research,

tional context in which the strategies were implemented, can be found at the ADVANCE grantee

at these approaches are most effective when adapted to suit specific institutional contexts.

Equitable Career Support: Career support programs, such as mentoring and leadership

development, are important for retention and promotion of female and male faculty. Women

are typically disadvantaged with respect to their male colleagues when career support

activities are informal.

• Establish formal mentoring structures and provide recognition of service for the time

and effort of mentors.

• Develop mechanisms to recognize professional excellence of both female and male

faculty.

• Provide workshops, training, and coaching on the tenure and promotion processes to

all faculty.

• Implement leadership development, career coaching, and network building programs.

Empowerment: Faculty, department leaders, and institutional administrators are

empowered when introduced to the scholarly findings on gender equity barriers and

given the tools and resources to address barriers in their decision­making.

• Provide faculty, department leaders, and institutional administrators with the tools

and resources to address gender equity barriers.

• Provide training on effective strategies to reduce the stressors that result in a

greater reliance on implicit biases when making decisions, especially in search

committees and promotion and tenure committees.

eported several other benefits of undertaking institutional transformation, which include:

also improve the situation for other underrepresented groups such as racial/ethnic minorities

er interest in and expectation for work­life balance.

grams leads to savings as a result of improved faculty satisfaction and retention.

re more competitive in recruiting highly qualified and diverse faculty than peer institutions

2­1997 1989 1986­1998

ships for Women in Science NSF Task Force on Programs for Women convened NSF Research Planning Grants and Career

neering (VPW) Advancement Grants for Women Scientists &

Engineers (RPG & CAA)
ADVANCE Awards
 

Institutional Transformation Awards

Cohort 1 (2001) Cohort 3 (2006)

• Georgia Institute of Technology (GA) • Brown University (RI)

• Hunter College, CUNY (NY) • California State Polytechnic University,

• New Mexico State University (NM) Pomona (CA)

• University of California, Irvine (CA) • Cornell University (NY)

• University of Colorado, Boulder (CO) • Iowa State University (IA)

• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (MI) • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)

• University of Puerto Rico, Humacao (PR) • University of Arizona (AZ)

• University of Washington (WA) • University of Illinois, Chicago (IL)

• University of Wisconsin, Madison (WI) • University of North Carolina, Charlotte (NC)

• William Marsh Rice University (TX)

Cohort 2 (2003)

Cohort 4 (2008) • Case Western Reserve University (OH)

• Columbia University (NY) • Michigan State University (MI)

• Kansas State University (KS) • North Dakota State University (ND)

• University of Alabama, Birmingham (AL) • Northeastern University (MA)

• University of Maryland, Baltimore County (MD) • Ohio State University (OH)

• University of Montana (MT) • Purdue University (IN)

• University of Rhode Island (RI) • Rutgers University (NJ)

• University of Texas, El Paso (TX) • University of Nebraska, Lincoln (NE)

• Utah State University (UT) • Washington State University (WA)

• Virginia Tech (VA) • Wright State University (OH)

Four awards were made in 2006 to support promising projects:

• Duke University (NC) • New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJ)

• Marshall University (WV) • University of Maryland Eastern Shore (MD)

IT­Catalyst

• California Polytechnic State University, • Towson University (MD)

San Luis Obispo (CA) • University of Alaska, Fairbanks (AK)

• Delaware State University (DE) • University of Minnesota, Duluth (MN)

• New York City College of Technology, CUNY (NY) • University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez(PR)

• Rochester Institute of Technology (NY) • University of Wisconsin, La Crosse (WI)

• South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SD) • Western Washington University (WA)

1990­1991 1993­Present 199 NSF Faculty Grants for Women Scientists & NSF Program for Women and Girls (PWG) NSF Women & Scie

Engineers program (FAW) [now Research on Gender in Science and

Engineering (GSE)]
e

Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation, and Dissemination (PAID) Awards

Leadership projects

• Bryn Mawr College (PA) • University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)

• Computing Research Association (DC) • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (MI)

• George Washington University (DC)* • University of Missouri, Kansas City (MO)

• Georgia Institute of Technology (GA) •University of Nevada Desert Research Institute (NV)*

• Iowa State University (IA)* • University of Oklahoma (OK)*

• MentorNet (CA) • University of Oregon (OR)

• Montana State University (MT) • University of Washington (WA)*

• North Carolina State University (NC) • University of Wisconsin, Madison (WI)

• Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg (PA)* • Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)*

• Pennsylvania State University, University Park (PA) • Wesleyan University (CT)*

• Syracuse University (NY)

Dissemination projects

• American Chemical Society (DC) • Spelman College (GA)

• American Economic Association (TN) • University of California,Hastings College of Law(CA)

• Association of Women in Science (DC) • University of California, Irvine (CA)

• Auburn University (AL) • University of Nebraska, Lincoln (NE)*

• National Academy of Sciences (DC) • University of Oklahoma (OK)

• National Postdoctoral Association (DC) • University of Washington (WA)

• New Mexico State University (NM) • University of Wisconsin, Madison (WI)

• North Carolina State University (NC) • Utah State University (UT)

• Pennsylvania State University, University Park (PA)

Adaptation projects

• Auburn University (AL) • Oklahoma State University (OK)

• Boston University (MA) • Skidmore College (NY)*

• Grand Valley State University (MI) • Texas Tech University (TX)

• Harvey Mudd College (CA)* • University of Delaware (DE)

• Hunter College, CUNY (NY) • University of Miami (FL)

• Idaho State University (ID) • University of Missouri, Columbia (MO)

• Michigan Technological University (MI) • University of Washington (WA)

• New York University (NY) • Wayne State University (MI)

• North Carolina State University (NC)

Research projects

• Clark Atlanta University (GA)

• Commission on Professionals in Science

& Technology (DC)

• University of Oklahoma (OK)

* Awards with one or more partnering institutions.
 

The Leadership component became part of PAID in 2007 and the Fellows component ended in 2003.
 

5 1997­2000 2001­Present nce conference NSF Professional Opportunities for Women in NSF ADVANCE program

Research & Education (POWRE)
Steps Toward Transformation

Since 2001, ADVANCE Institutional Transformation awardees have developed an

understanding of the steps needed to create a more equitable environment for women

faculty. Many of these steps can be incorporated into ongoing strategic planning efforts

and implemented by existing institutional offices and administrative positions. In order to

be successful and sustainable, these activities should involve the institutional leadership,

mid­level administrators, and faculty.

Review the Research: Study the social science literature on organizational change,

implicit and explicit bias, work­life issues, accumulated disadvantage, and other research

related to the underrepresentation of women in STEM academic careers.

Collect and Analyze the Data: Identify the specific needs of faculty via surveys and

consultation and gather basic institutional data, such as, but not limited to:

1. The distribution of faculty by gender, minority status, disability, tenure status,
 

rank, and department.
 

2. The outcomes of recruitment, retention, and advancement by gender.

3. The gender distribution of STEM faculty in leadership positions.

4. The allocation of resources and opportunities for STEM faculty by gender.

Review and Revise Policies, Procedures, and Practices: Identify and review the

relevant institutional and departmental policies, procedures, and practices that impact

academic careers, such as recruitment, tenure, and promotion. Consider that many

institutional practices are often not written down (e.g., recruiting faculty from a limited set

of institutions), but can have significant impact on decisions and may differentially affect

various demographic groups. Revise and clarify problematic or vague policies and

practices and ensure that the policies and practices are consistently applied.

Adapt and Innovate Strategies: Research existing strategies that support faculty and

identify ways to adapt them to the institutional context. New and innovative strategies

may be needed, particularly to address challenges that are unique due to institution type,

institutional mission, and geographic region. All strategies should be supported by the

available literature and justified with the institutional data and outcomes of the policy,

procedure, and practice review. New programs should be built into existing institutional

offices and administrative positions whenever possible.

Keep the Institution Informed: Report the institutional data and the outcomes of the policy,

procedure, and practice review and the resulting revisions.

Monitor and Revise: Monitor faculty policies and programs over time to evaluate the

impact of changes and revisions. Institutional data, including the use of and attitudes

about new and revised policies and programs, should be collected and analyzed on a

regular basis in order to identify new issues and address areas that still need attention.

NSF ADVANCE web site: www.nsf.gov/advance

ADVANCE web portal: www.advance­portal.net

Send inquiries to: advance@nsf.gov

NSF 09­41