Albuquerque, NM, November 11, 2021 - The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) has recently been awarded a one-year, $25,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation in order to develop a STEM leadership program for Indigenous womxn. The planning grant will allow AISES to consult with Indigenous womxn professionals in STEM as well as with AISES partners to address systemic changes centering Indigenous culture necessary to facilitate and support the persistence and advancement of Indigenous womxn in STEM.

The significance of the project is to delve deeply into understanding the supports, institutional changes, cultural understanding, training, policies, and processes necessary to allow Indigenous womxn to reclaim leadership roles in STEM. Specifically, AISES intends to move beyond the common understanding of womxn’s needs in the workplace and focus more specifically on ensuring STEM workplaces understand and embrace the cultural significance of womxn in leadership as this understanding and acceptance is foundational to the persistence of womxn in STEM leadership positions.

About AISES

Founded in 1977, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) is a national nonprofit organization focused on substantially increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies and careers. This robust nonprofit currently supports individual student and professional members across the U.S. and Canada in critically needed STEM disciplines. Through chartered college and university chapters, tribal chapters, and affiliated K-12 schools, members benefit from diverse STEM-focused programming that supports careers and promotes student success and workforce development in multiple crucial areas. To learn more visit aises.org.

About the Henry Luce Foundation

Founded in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc., the Henry Luce Foundation is a private, independent, non-profit corporation operating under the laws of the State of New York. The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to enrich public discourse by promoting innovative scholarship, cultivating new leaders, and fostering international understanding. The Foundation advances its mission through grantmaking and leadership programs in the fields of Asia, higher education, religion and theology, art, and public policy. To learn more visit hluce.org.