Catalyzing STEM Gender Equity at Drexel: Building a Foundation for Systemic Transformation

It is fundamentally important to ensure diversity and equity across the career lifespan of faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Motivated by this core tenant and priority for Drexel University, the long-term goal for this project team is to create a pipeline of outstanding, diverse women leaders at Drexel. However, this can only be accomplished through the retention and promotion of women faculty at the institution.

Drexel has a long history of recruiting talented women faculty at the Assistant Professor level, who are then promoted to Associate Professor. However, a recent internal audit identified a consistent and persistent gap in promotion to Full. The gap is particularly stark for underrepresented minority women.

This study is designed to evaluate the current policies, procedures, and practices at Drexel for faculty transitioning from Associate to Full Professor, identify best practices developed through other ADVANCE programs, and to use this insight to develop an evidence-based fair and equitable promotion policies, procedures, and practices for use campus-wide. Recognizing the need to eliminate systemic gender and race barriers impeding progress across the academic lifespan, this project will focus on the intersections of gender and race/ethnicity, while also paying attention to gender identity and expression, country of origin, different abilities, family status, and faculty appointment type and rank.

Drexel prioritizes diversity and equity for university leadership. This project aims to develop a transparent and sustainable professional “roadmap” to Professor, which is essential for attaining gender parity and diversity at that rank.

The three goals of this project are: 1) understand the policies, procedures, and practices that negatively impact or facilitate women’s retention and promotion to Full Professor; 2) identify best-practice strategies developed by other ADVANCE institutions that might be tailored to fit Drexel’s context; and 3) utilize findings to create a comprehensive strategic action plan for developing inclusive and diverse leadership at Drexel University. This two-year mixed-method study will prepare Drexel for future data collection and data analyses of faculty equity which can be used by institutional leadership to inform decision-making.

The ADVANCE “Catalyst” work will also prepare the institution to implement evidence-based strategies to enhance retention and promotion for all faculty which will be outlined in a five-year faculty equity strategic plan that will be produced as part of this project. Results will be disseminated via conferences, peer-review publications, industry press, popular media, and shared with other ADVANCE institutions.

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 "Catalyst" awards provide support for institutional equity assessments and the development of five-year faculty equity strategic plans at an academic, non-profit institution of higher education.

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.