ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers (ADVANCE)

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PROGRAM SOLICITATION
NSF 12-584

REPLACES DOCUMENT(S):
NSF 10-593

National Science Foundation Directorate for Education & Human Resources      Division of Human Resource Development Directorate for Biological Sciences Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering      Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Directorate for Engineering Directorate for Geosciences      Division of Polar Programs Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences Office of International and Integrative Activities

Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):

     October 05, 2012

Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation and Dissemination (PAID)

     October 04, 2013

Institutional Transformation (IT) and Institutional Transformation Catalyst (IT-Catalyst)

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):

     November 08, 2012

Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation and Dissemination (PAID)

     November 12, 2013

Institutional Transformation (IT) and Institutional Transformation Catalyst (IT-Catalyst)

 Synopsis of Program:

For many decades, an increasing number of women have obtained STEM doctoral degrees, however, women, particularly women of color, continue to be significantly underrepresented in almost all STEM academic positions. While the degree of underrepresentation varies among STEM disciplines, women's advancement to senior professorial ranks and leadership roles is an issue in all fields. The underrepresentation of women is also a critical issue for the nation, at large, as its need to develop a globally competitive and diverse workforce increases.
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 (Spencer, et al, 1999; Halpern and Tan, 2001; Hyde, 2005; National Academy of Sciences, 2007). Such factors include, but are not limited to: stereotype threat, societal impacts, organizational constraints of academic institutions; differential effect of work and family demands; implicit and explicit bias; and lack of women in academic leadership and decision-making positions. The cumulative effect of such diverse factors has been to create infrastructural barriers that impact the number of women entering, persisting and advancing in STEM careers.
Thus, the goal of the ADVANCE program is to develop systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic STEM careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce. ADVANCE also has as its goal to seminally contribute to and inform the general knowledge base on gender equity in the academic STEM disciplines.

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