The Center for Research on Women and Gender (CRWG) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) created the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program in 2002, to address the limited participation of women in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The overall goal of WISE is to recruit, retain and advance girls and women in STEM fields. Since its conception, WISE has reached out to girls and young women at various stages of the pipeline, from grade school through undergraduate education. Specifically, WISE has: a) built a strong network with community organizations and local businesses to attract grade school girls (K-12) to mathematics and science disciplines, b) provided tutoring for pre-college young women to improve their mathematics and science college proficiency scores, and c) implemented a comprehensive peer mentoring program for undergraduate women in STEM majors, including a residence hall floor and a student organization. WISE adopts a comprehensive and developmental approach to recruit more women at UIC by promoting an educational climate that attracts, prepares, mentors and supports women, early in their educational pursuits through undergraduate and graduate school and in the transition to their professional careers. WISE emphasizes the need for equity in higher educational environments, such as mathematics and science disciplines, standardized proficiency testing and technology. WISE successes include: Girls' Electronic Mentoring in Science, Engineering and Technology (GEM-SET), where 750 6th-12th grade students have received online mentoring from 220 STEM professionals; GEM-SET Mentoring for Success, where weekly mentoring and math tutoring has resulted in a 90% enrollment of the target group in advanced STEM placement and honors courses; WISE mentoring initiatives in which participants have a 80% 4-year graduation rate compared to a 50% 6-year graduation rate for the overall UIC campus; WISE residence hall that has doubled in size to accommodate 30 women majoring in STEM fields; and WISE travel grants that have allowed over a 100 graduate women to present research at professional meetings and conferences.
