RCN-SEES: The Global Research Network on Women and Sustainability: Mentoring underrepresented women and women from developing countries in research on environmental sustainability

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This award is funded under NSF's Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) activities, which aim to address challenges of creating a sustainable world. Attention is increasingly focused on global climate change and its impact on vulnerable populations of women and children in the form of food insecurity, the uncertainty of drought and other catastrophic international environmental events. This RCN-SEES project will broaden participation of underrepresented groups by building a global network of women scholars from different ethnic and racial groups engaged in climate change research. Through international workshops and the Global Women Scholars peer to peer mentoring program, we will develop scholarly collaborations on population vulnerability, food security, and sustainability strategies. These research teams will act as both peer support for women scientists around the world and as a mentoring network to encourage more women and girls into the science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM) disciplines. The effectiveness of these methods in educating and engaging women as climate change scientists at a global scale will be assessed enabling the project to make significant advances in our understanding of how to promote the inclusion of women in climate change and sustainability research. We cannot solve global problems using half of the global capacity. Broadening the participation of women and members of underrepresented minorities is central to increasing U.S. competitiveness and addressing global climate change issues that have significant implications for our society. Mentoring, social networks, and peer support are important in any field but more critically needed to encourage women into the sciences. Women are under-represented in the STEM disciplines and research suggests that by providing social networks and peer support, we can increase the number of women participating as professionals in the science fields. This project focuses on creating a new generation of women scholars and promoting multidisciplinary and multi-cultural research that combines ecological, agricultural, social, and behavioral sciences related to women and sustainability.