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Women of Color in Engineering Collaborative

wcec logoNSF 4 Color bitmap LogoThe Society of Women Engineers, in collaboration with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF Award #2310386) to support the creation of the Women of Color in Engineering Collaborative (WCEC). With this grant, SWE will implement the strategies outlined in the WCEC strategic plan that was developed in collaboration with 29 organizations under a prior NSF grant (NSF Award #2040634), including professional STEM societies and industry partners.

The NSF INCLUDES Collaborative Change Consortia grant is funded by NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES), a comprehensive national initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in discoveries and innovations by focusing on diversity, inclusion and broadening participation in STEM at scale. Ultimately, the WCEC seeks to identify impactful promising practices for retaining women of color in the engineering profession. Under the new grant, the WCEC will share case studies of promising practices with member organizations, support women of color in their pursuit of professional development opportunities, and increase access and exposure of existing programs and services to women engineers of color and the organizations with which they engage.

In the coming years, the WCEC will expand to include more partners from industry, government, higher education, and professional STEM societies to create a support system that systematically impacts women’s transition from college to career as well as their advancement in higher education and the public and private sectors. Through the WCEC, partner organizations will better leverage their resources to promote systemic change while working collectively to decrease the barriers that lead to the attrition of women engineers of color.

Find out more about the WCEC at https://www.womenofcolorengineers.org/.

Read the AllTogether blog post about the NSF INCLUDES CCC Award.