WEPAN Newsletter December 2024

Still Time to Register for the Women in Engineering Program Day

On February 12 in San Antonio, TX, our annual Women in Engineering Program Day (WIEP) will convene practitioners and other stakeholders in the advancement of women in engineering to network, share resources, and discuss promising practices for supporting women in engineering.

Register at wepan.org/wiep. WEPAN members receive a $50 discount!

This year, WIEP, one of WEPAN’s signature events, will be taking place in tandem with CoNECD, the only conference dedicated to all the diverse groups that comprise the engineering and computing workforce. CoNECD registrants receive a $25 discount to WIEP.

Events

Registration Open for the 2025 ADVANCE EiSCC

Registration is now open for the 2025 ADVANCE EiSCC! Join us in San Juan, Puerto Rico from June 1-4, 2025 at the Hilton Inner Harbor to drive systemic change in STEM.

Register at:  https://registration.socio.events/e/adveiscc2025‍

All members of WEPAN receive a $150 discount on registration. Early-bird registration is open through February 14, 2025, so register soon for the discounted rate! The WEPAN member discount is stackable with the early-bird registration rate.

For any questions or concerns, please reach out to arc@equityinstem.org

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Pre-Conference Webinar in January

To help everyone make the most out of the ADVANCE EiSCC experience, we would also like to invite you to “Driving Change: An Introduction to ARC and the ADVANCE EiSCC” on January 16, 2025 at 3pm ET.

This pre-conference webinar will cover the ARC Network’s mission, goals, and programming. It will also serve as a primer for the ADVANCE EiSCC and for programming and funding offered by NSF ADVANCE. Register here.

Save the Date!

WEPAN has exciting programming in April.

The Women of Color Summit on April 4 will focus on Women of Color in Engineering and STEM with emphasis on themes that touch on emerging research and practices to support advancement, inclusion and belonging, and authentic allyship.

The Synergiiize Summit on April 5 wil gather Women of Color in STEM entrepreneurship with funders and other key constituents to share resources, build community, and discuss promising practices for inclusive STEM innovation ecosystems.

News

Applications Open - L'Oreal USA For Women in Science Awards

Each year, the L’Oréal USA For Women in Science (FWIS) program attracts talented applicants from diverse STEM fields, representing some of the nation’s leading academic institutions and laboratories. The program has awarded 100 postdoctoral women scientists over $5 million in grants to advance their research and careers.  

The program is seeking five exceptional women scientists to advance their research and serve as role models for the next generation of girls in STEM. You could be awarded $75,000 to advance your career and research!  

Candidates must have completed their PhD and have started their postdoctoral research position by the application deadline. The deadline to apply is Friday, February 14 at 5 PM ET. Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to apply.  

For more information take a look at frequently asked questions or the FWIS facts sheet.‍

Application: https://aaas.secure-platform.com:443/lorealfwis  

Are you interested in serving as a FWIS application reviewer? Complete this brief interest form and someone from AAAS will be in touch.  

Judges Needed for Future City STEM Competition

Middle school participants around the globe are engineering amazing and innovative future cities that prioritize the health and safety of both citizens and the environment; and we need your help! Getting involved is as easy as:  

1. Signing up as a virtual essay judge. Volunteers are needed to assess teams' 1,500-word essays for both regional and finals competitions. Time commitment: 4 to 6 hours in early January.
2. Volunteering as an in-person judge. You and your judging panel listen to teams city presentations and participate in a Q&A session. We need judges at 40 regional competitions in January and at the Finals competition in Washington, D.C., in February. Time commitment: 8 hours in January and/or February.

Register today at https://futurecity.org/Register/ for this meaningful and fun engineering experience for both you and the students!

ACCESS+ Research Study: Participants Needed

ACCESS+ is seeking participants for a research study, “An intersectional, critical mixed-methods approach to understanding member experiences with STEM professional society and association culture,” funded by the ASAE Research Foundation (IRB 2024-0164).

This research is studying STEM professional society member experiences with their STEM professional society culture, policies, and practices. This research study also aims to better understand the intersections of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice issues within and across STEM professional societies. The findings of this study will support STEM professional societies in making more intentional and informed decisions about the changes they undertake.

To read more and to take the study, please visit: https://accessplusstem.com/access-research-study/

WEPAN Listserv

Do you have something to tell the WEPAN community? Remember that subscription to the WEPAN-L listserv is a member benefit! Share announcements, post publication opportunities, and collaborate with colleagues from different institutions and organizations on special projects.

To subscribe to the WEPAN-L listserv, visit: lists.purdue.edu/mailman/listinfo/wepan-l

Resources

Publications, reports, or communications relevant to women in engineering and STEM equity. All resources listed below are available in the ARC Network online resource library. If you need help accessing the library, please contact ARC Librarian Bethany Farmer at bethany@wepan.org.  

• "Belonging Interrupted: Toward an Understanding of How Virtual Learning Impedes Women Students’ Belonging in Engineering" by L. DeAngelo, D. Lewis, & E. McGreevy

"Although the effects of COVID-19 were felt by all students, the pandemic exacerbated the barriers to belonging for women in engineering. Little work to date has investigated women’s experiences during the pandemic in disciplines that are hallmarked by masculinity. What scholarship has been completed on pandemic-necessitated virtual instruction has not examined how women’s experiences and sense of belonging differed by the college year in which this disruption in their learning environment occurred."

ARC Network

Funded by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program, Awards HRD-2121468 and HRD-1740860, the ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network seeks to achieve gender equity for faculty in higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. WEPAN serves as the backbone organization of the ARC Network.‍

VVS Webinar Recordings Available

The recording of Dr. Brooke Coley's VVS webinar "Racing Against the Clock: Publication Timelines in STEM Ed Outlets"  is now available on the ARC Network website at: www.equityinstem.org/blog/publication-timelines-in-stem-ed-outlets‍

The recording of Dr. Jessica Gold's VVS webinar "Bringing the people back in: a meta-analysis of equity work(ers) in academic institutions" is now available on the ARC Network website at: www.equityinstem.org/blog/equity-workers-in-academic-institutions

Institutional WEPAN Membership

Want to encourage your institution to deepen its commitment to equity and excellence?

Consider becoming an Institutional Champion Member. At this membership level, institutions have unlimited member representatives who get to dive into critical diversity, equity, and inclusion issues through custom workshops. These members also get the opportunity to strengthen their inclusive leadership capacity as part of the Equity and Excellence Council. Additional Institutional Champion member benefits include:

• Professional Development
• Decades of resources in the WEPAN Knowledge Center
• Professional development webinars, including one featuring an invited speaker from your institution
• Free and discounted workshops, including one customized for your institution
• Free and discounted access to WEPAN’s Program Days
• Three annual convening registrations
• Communication & Networking
• WEPAN-L listserv
• Slack
• WEPAN member directory
• Social media spotlights of your institution
• Workforce
• Free and discounted job postings for your institution in WEPAN’s Career Center

For more information on how to become a WEPAN Institutional Member, please email membership@wepan.org.

WEPAN Slack Channel

Please join us on Slack to drive that connectivity across our membership during a critical time for connection. Join our Slack community today!

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