"This timely volume brings together a range of international scholars to analyse cultural, political, and individual factors which contribute to the continued global issue of female underrepresentation in STEM study and careers. Offering a comparative approach to examining gender equity in STEM fields across countries including the UK, Germany, the US, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Africa, and China, the volume provides a thematic breakdown of institutional trends and national policies that have successfully improved gender equity in STEM at institutions of higher education. Offering case studies that demonstrate how policies interact with changing social and cultural norms, and impact women's choices and experiences in relation to the uptake and continuation of STEM study at the undergraduate level, the volume highlights new directions for research and policy to promote gender equity in STEM at school, university, and career level. Contributing to the United Nations' (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in science education, higher education, and gender equity in STEM fields. The text will also support further discussion and reflection around multicultural education, educational policy and politics, and the sociology of education more broadly. Hyun Kyoung Ro is Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of North Texas, USA. Frank Fernandez is Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Mississippi, USA. Elizabeth Ramon is a PhD student in Higher Education at the University of North Texas, USA"--

What does is it mean for girls of color to become techno-social change agents--individuals who fuse technological savvy with a deep understanding of society in order to analyze and confront inequality? Kimberly A. Scott explores this question and others as she details the National Science Foundation-funded enrichment project COMPUGIRLS. This groundbreaking initiative teaches tech skills to adolescent girls of color but, as importantly, offers a setting that emphasizes empowerment, community advancement, and self-discovery. Scott draws on her experience as an architect of COMPUGIRLS to detail the difficulties of translating participants' lives into a digital context while tracing how the program evolved. The dramatic stories of the participants show them blending newly developed technical and communication skills in ways designed to spark effective action and bring about important change. A compelling merger of theory and storytelling, COMPUGIRLS provides a much-needed roadmap for understanding how girls of color can find and define their selves in today's digital age.

Women faculty’s participation in academic science and engineering is critical for future US global competitiveness, yet their underrepresentation particularly in senior positions remains a widespread problem. To overcome persistent institutional resistance and barriers to change, the NSF ADVANCE institutional transformation initiative, instituted in 2001, seeks to increase the workforce participation of women faculty in academic science and engineering through systematic institutional transformation. This book assesses the equity, diversity and inclusion outcomes of the changes underway at 19 universities. It provides a comprehensive, stand-alone description of successful approaches to increase the recruitment, advancement and retention of women faculty throughout the academic career pipeline. The findings show that targeted institutional transformation at these 19 U.S. universities has resulted in significant increases in women faculty’s workforce participation, as well as improved gender equity and inclusion. Analyses by discipline show that the greatest changes have occurred within engineering and natural science disciplines at these universities. Yet the results also point to the overall continued underrepresentation of women faculty in academic science and engineering at the nation’s research universities. A framework of organizational change is derived to serve as a template to academic and other organizations seeking transformation to enhance gender equity, diversity and inclusion.

This report aims to 'crack the code' by deciphering the factors that hinder and facilitate girls' and women's participation, achievement and continuation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and, in particular, what the education sector can do to promote girls' and women's interest in and engagement with STEM education and ultimately STEM careers.

The United States economy relies on the productivity, entrepreneurship, and creativity of its people. To maintain its scientific and engineering leadership amid increasing economic and educational globalization, the United States must aggressively pursue the innovative capacity of all its people—women and men. However, women face barriers to success in every field of science and engineering; obstacles that deprive the country of an important source of talent. Without a transformation of academic institutions to tackle such barriers, the future vitality of the U.S. research base and economy are in jeopardy. Beyond Bias and Barriers explains that eliminating gender bias in academia requires immediate overarching reform, including decisive action by university administrators, professional societies, federal funding agencies and foundations, government agencies, and Congress. If implemented and coordinated across public, private, and government sectors, the recommended actions will help to improve workplace environments for all employees while strengthening the foundations of America's competitiveness.

Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty presents new and surprising findings about career differences between female and male full-time, tenure-track, and tenured faculty in science, engineering, and mathematics at the nation's top research universities. Much of this congressionally mandated book is based on two unique surveys of faculty and departments at major U.S. research universities in six fields: biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, and physics. A departmental survey collected information on departmental policies, recent tenure and promotion cases, and recent hires in almost 500 departments. A faculty survey gathered information from a stratified, random sample of about 1,800 faculty on demographic characteristics, employment experiences, the allocation of institutional resources such as laboratory space, professional activities, and scholarly productivity. This book paints a timely picture of the status of female faculty at top universities, clarifies whether male and female faculty have similar opportunities to advance and succeed in academia, challenges some commonly held views, and poses several questions still in need of answers. This book will be of special interest to university administrators and faculty, graduate students, policy makers, professional and academic societies, federal funding agencies, and others concerned with the vitality of the U.S. research base and economy.

An evidence-based, action-oriented response to the persistent, everyday inequity of academic workplaces. Despite decades of effort by federal science funders to increase the numbers of women holding advanced degrees and faculty jobs in science and engineering, they are persistently underrepresented in academic STEM disciplines, especially in positions of seniority, leadership, and prestige. Women filled 47% of all US jobs in 2015, but held only 24% of STEM jobs. Barriers to women are built into academic workplaces: biased selection and promotion systems, inadequate structures to support those with family and personal responsibilities, and old-boy networks that can exclude even very successful women from advancing into top leadership roles. But this situation can—and must—change. In Building Gender Equity in the Academy, Sandra Laursen and Ann E. Austin offer a concrete, data-driven approach to creating institutions that foster gender equity. Focusing on STEM fields, where gender equity is most lacking, Laursen and Austin begin by outlining the need for a systemic approach to gender equity. Looking at the successful work being done by specific colleges and universities around the country, they analyze twelve strategies these institutions have used to create more inclusive working environments, including • implementing inclusive recruitment and hiring practices • addressing biased evaluation methods • establishing equitable tenure and promotion processes • strengthening accountability structures, particularly among senior leadership • improving unwelcoming department climates and cultures • supporting dual-career couples • offering flexible work arrangements that accommodate personal lives • promoting faculty professional development and advancement Laursen and Austin also discuss how to bring these strategies together to create systemic change initiatives appropriate for specific institutional contexts. Drawing on three illustrative case studies—at Case Western Reserve University, the University of Texas at El Paso, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison—they explain how real institutions can strategically combine several equity-driven approaches, thereby leveraging their individual strengths to make change efforts comprehensive. Grounded in scholarship but written for busy institutional leaders, Building Gender Equity in the Academy is a handbook of actionable strategies for faculty and administrators working to improve the inclusion and visibility of women and others who are marginalized in the sciences and in academe more broadly.

The book focuses on the underrepresentation of women in engineering and computing and provides practical ideas for educators and employers seeking to foster gender diversity. From new ways of conceptualizing the fields for beginning students to good management practices, the report recommends large and small actions that can add up to real change.