ADVANCE Partnership: Engineering Deans’ Gender Equity Initiative: Aligning Systems to Ensure Inclusion and Equity in Advancement of Faculty

科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）学科能够更好地解决复杂的全球问题，当不同的专业知识受到欢迎，支持和保留。然而，STEM文化是由过去和现在都以男性、白色、异性恋和健全人为主的系统产生的，这导致了显性和隐性的做法，尽管劳动力和国家规范发生了变化，但STEM空间在很大程度上是同质的。多元化人才的流失导致学科卓越性和解决问题的能力，创新能力以及在压力下的应变能力的缩小。对创新的需求增加，加上人口结构的转变，以及最近COVID 19疫情和种族暴力的影响，导致劳动力性别化和种族化。这些影响迫切需要确保学术工程环境对不同的女性教师具有包容性和公平性，以便所有人才都可以解决当前和未来需要工程专业知识的复杂全球问题。除非工程系统（例如，学术学院、工程认证机构、专业协会）查明并解决使性别歧视和种族主义继续存在的结构、政策和做法。目前，学术工程系统是松散的，有时是脱节的。调整这些工程系统并整合支持包容性组织变革的循证政策和实践，将使更多和多样化的工程人才以及STEM系统改革成为可能。 这一举措将扩展美国工程教育学会（ASEE）的ADVANCE适应工程系主任性别平等（EDGE）倡议的工作，该倡议为成功地将基于社会科学的证据适应学术工程实践提供了资源和范例。KnowlEDGE倡议的目标是：1）调整学术工程学院和部门的系统，重点是晋升和终身教职，以提高不同女性工程教师的成功; 2）使专业协会和ABET内的认证管理系统保持一致并透明，增加不同性别的ABET方案评估员和专员的人数，使认证决定多样化-使机构和增加领导责任;和3）最终，以支持不同的人才和不同的女性未来工程师的公平成功。KnowlEDGE变革模式将在一个多元化的实践社区内的八个校区进行试点和部署。成果将通过合作伙伴网络、ASEE工程学院院长理事会、社交媒体和科学出版物传播。这项工作与NSF ADVANCE计划保持一致，该计划旨在通过重点确定和消除阻碍学术机构中不同教师充分参与和进步的组织障碍来促进性别平等。 阻碍公平的组织障碍可能存在于政策、流程、做法以及组织文化和氛围中。ADVANCE“合作伙伴”奖项为学术、非营利高等教育机构和非学术非营利组织提供支持，以适应和采用循证战略。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines are better able to solve complicated global problems when diverse expertise is welcomed, supported, and retained. STEM cultures, however, result from systems that were, and are, predominately male, white, heterosexual, and able-bodied, which results in explicit and implicit practices that keep STEM spaces largely homogenous despite changes in the workforce and national norms. The loss of diverse talent results in the narrowing of disciplinary excellence and capacity for problem solving, innovation, and resilience in times of stress. Heightened demands for innovation, coupled with demographic shifts, and, most recently, the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic and the racial violence, resulted in gendered and racialized workforce outcomes. These impacts create an urgent need to ensure that academic engineering environments are inclusive and equitable for diverse women faculty so that all talent is available to address current and future complex global problems requiring engineering expertise. This need will not be met unless engineering systems, (e.g., academic colleges, engineering accrediting bodies, professional societies) identify and address structures, policies, and practices that keep sexism and racism in place. Currently, academic engineering systems are loosely aligned and sometimes disconnected. Aligning these engineering systems and integrating evidence-based policies and practices that support inclusive organizational change will enable the availability of more abundant and diverse engineering talent as well as STEM system reform. This initiative will extend the work of the American Society of Engineering Education’s (ASEE’s) ADVANCE Adaptation Engineering Deans Gender Equity (EDGE) Initiative, which provided resources, and exemplars, for successful adaptation of social science-based evidence to academic engineering practice. The goals of the KnowlEDGE Initiative are 1) to align systems of academic engineering colleges and departments focused on promotion and tenure to increase the success of diverse women engineering faculty; 2) to align and make transparent the systems of accreditation governance within professional societies and ABET, and to increase the number of diverse women ABET Program Evaluators and Commissioners to diversify the accreditation decision-making bodies and increase leadership accountability; and 3) ultimately, to support diverse talent and equitable success of diverse women future engineers. The KnowlEDGE change model will be piloted and deployed on eight campuses within a diverse community of practice. Outcomes will be disseminated through partner networks, ASEE’s Engineering Deans Council, social media, and scientific publications. This work is aligned with the NSF ADVANCE program, which is designed to foster gender equity through a focus on the identification and elimination of organizational barriers that impede the full participation and advancement of diverse faculty in academic institutions. Organizational barriers that inhibit equity may exist in policies, processes, practices, and the organizational culture and climate. ADVANCE "Partnership" awards provide support for the adaptation and adoption of evidence-based strategies to academic, non-profit institutions of higher education, and non-academic non-profit organizations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.