WHAT WE KNOW WORKS: LESSONS LEARNED FROM NFS’S ADVANCE PROGRAM

In 2001, NSF launched the cross-directorate ADVANCE program to increase the number of women on the faculty in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This first-of-its-kind program explicitly aims to change the culture that creates barriers to women’s success, a leap forward from the “fix-the-woman” approach. The signature “track” (specific solicitation), Institutional Transformation, funds an academic institution to conduct self-study to reveal what barriers are most salient in its specific context, as each department and workplace has an idiosyncratic culture derived from its unique history. The new faculty member’s question, “Why are we doing this?” has as its typical answer, “Because we always have”. We have learned from ADVANCE that examining and revising practices, policies, and procedures within departments and institutions are key to women’s success. Among the missing practices that may be disproportionately problematic for women include a lack of family leave, a lack of stop-the-tenure-clock, a lack of onsite daycare, a lack of mentorship, and the non-address of dual career opportunities. Importantly, all these impact men as well. A second key barrier is implicit bias. While implicit bias cannot be eliminated, learning about it and being willing to exert the cognitive load necessary to reduce its impact have been successful. A third key component of cultural change is a partnership social scientists: this is a people problem. A sociological framework enables targeted and more effective efforts to change. Harassment, bullying, sexual harassment and micro-aggressions are just beginning to be addressed through pre-emptive Ethics Statements in departments and one day, processes that remove offenders. Dissemination of what we know works remains a significant barrier to women’s advancement.