ADVANCE Adaptation: Gender Equity Advances Retention in STEM at Wayne State University (WSU GEARS)

Wayne State University, Detroit MI

Investigators

Abstract

Wayne State University (WSU) is an urban campus in the heart of Detroit, Michigan. WSU GEARS ADVANCE project focuses on systemic institutional and cultural change to move WSU toward a place of belonging and valuing diversity where women STEM faculty thrive and succeed. In 2010, women comprised under 14% of STEM faculty. WSU began to address this gender imbalance through increased oversight of regular search procedures and by workshops that stressed the value of diversity and the risks of implicit bias. The result was a steady increase of women in WSU’s STEM faculty to 20% in 2018; notably less than 3% of these women were underrepresented minorities. While WSU has continued to increase these numbers and strengthen pathways for success of women and underrepresented minorities, addressing structural challenges at all institutional levels remains a priority. WSU GEARS will leverage successful intervention strategies developed by WSU and NSF ADVANCE peer institutions. This project will reshape the campus inclusion culture by capitalizing on existing momentum and collaborations, adapting relevant policies and practices at departmental, college, and university levels. The WSU GEARS ADVANCE Adaptation Project will reduce inequities for women and underrepresented minorities in STEM faculty through systemic change. Specifically, this project will tackle three barriers to the hiring, promotion, and retention of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM on the WSU campus: (1) toxic work environments, (2) work/family/life strains, and (3) unequal workload burdens. To overcome these barriers, WSU GEARS will adapt proven programs developed under prior ADVANCE programs through the following integrated tracks: nuanced data collection to inform policies and practices (Wayne Drives), enhancement of existing WSU programs (Wayne Shifts), and creation of new WSU programs (Wayne Accelerates). The WSU GEARS Project will: 1) promote successful programs that improve campus climate and create greater equity among STEM faculty in hiring and retention; 2) identify additional barriers for women and underrepresented minorities in STEM, especially for intersecting identities, that need to be tackled beyond the current programs; and 3) provide nuanced data to guide institutional improvements for women and underrepresented minorities. WSU is committed to sustaining outcomes beyond the award term and will invest in institutionalizing successful programs to continue to enact positive systemic change. The NSF ADVANCE program 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 “Adaptation” awards provide support for the adaptation and adoption of evidence-based strategies to academic, non-profit institution of higher education as well as 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.