Insights From the Women in STEM Education Network: Why Co-Mentoring Matters

• In Event: Women and STEM Education

Abstract

Many gaps remain regarding best practices for supporting women in STEM. The Women in STEM Education Network (WiSEN) NSF Includes Design Develop Launch Pilot (DDLP) has the goal of assembling undergraduate and graduate women students in STEM in a national co-mentoring network with global reach, collaborating with institutional partners’ faculty, administrators, and professionals to cultivate pathways to success. Using intersectionality and community cultural wealth theories, the researchers use data sources—surveys, observations, interviews, and stories—from our multiple IRB-approved WiSEN project to study how co-mentoring supports female students in their STEM pursuits across four institutions. Preliminary findings illuminate promising practices to support women in STEM and insights for supporting local systems change as scale.

Authors

• Makini Z. Beck, Rochester Institute of Technology

• Elizabeth Wargo, University of Idaho

• Melinda Howard, Gonzaga University

• Jillian Cadwell, Washington State University - Tri-Cities

• Ke Wu, University of Montana

• Sarah Bark, Rochester Institute of Technology

• Antonette M. Aragon, Colorado State University