The Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has received a $1.25 million ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), aimed at improving gender equity in STEM fields. The three-year grant will build on prior NSF ADVANCE initiatives at the university.

The prior ADVANCE work was successful in addressing or changing policies and procedures focusing on implicit bias in hiring, tenure and promotion decisions that could lead women and individuals from different racial and ethnic populations to be evaluated less favorably. Thus, perpetuating historical under-participation in STEM academic careers. The Alabama ADVANCE Partnership for Achieving Gender Equity in STEM will focus on intersectionality and inclusive and intentional approaches to address systemic change strategies that promote equity for all STEM faculty in the academic workplace.  Intersectional approaches that address systemic change for STEM faculty is the recognition that gender, race and ethnicity do not exist in isolation from each other and other dimensions of social identity. Paulette Patterson Dilworth, Ph.D., Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will serve as Principle Investigator.

“UAB has been a leader in efforts to advance gender equity in STEM, so it makes perfect sense for us to continue our leadership in this area,” Dilworth said.

The grant will allow UAB to join with the University of Alabama at Huntsville and three of Alabama’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Alabama A&M University, Miles College and Oakwood University in a partnership to implement evidence-based activities that will lead to new policies and/or policy changes that promote gender equity for STEM faculty in the academic workplace.