Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering is essential to the health, security, and prosperity of the United States. NSF is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce to increase the Nation's capacity to perform engineering research and development, enhance innovation, and create new technologies that benefit society.

Through NSF, the engineering community can get involved by performing research, joining and building the community, and supporting diverse students. NSF also provides funding for career-life balance and varied career paths. NSF-funded activities and other resources offer effective ways to broaden participation and nurture diverse communities in engineering.

Find out more about these opportunities in the links below.

Perform research

NSF funding provides opportunities for individual researchers and teams to understand barriers and create methods for increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in engineering.

• Broadening Participation in Engineering
• Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering
• Workplace Equity for Persons with Disabilities in STEM and STEM Education

See a full list of programs in NSF's Broadening Participation portfolio.

Join and build the community

NSF-funded networks and infrastructure create and support a diverse and inclusive science and engineering enterprise.

• The NSF INCLUDES National Network helps members grow the community, share best practices, and learn of new initiatives.
• The LGBTQ+ Advocacy in STEM community of practice and Safe Zone Ally Training help participants support LGBTQ+ students and faculty.

NSF also provides funding opportunities to build diverse and inclusive communities for graduate students, post-docs and faculty:

• NSF INCLUDES
• ADVANCE: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions
• Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology HBCU Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (CREST HBCU-RISE)
• Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST Centers) Interest in Engineering Research
• Fostering Harassment-Free STEM Education, Research, and Workplace Environments
• STEM Access for Persons with Disabilities (STEM-APWD)

Train and mentor students, postdocs and veterans

NSF funding opportunities help communities build and nurture a diverse engineering workforce.

• Engineering Postdoctoral Fellows
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Excellence in Research (HBCU-EiR)
• Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students (INTERN)
• Research Experiences for Undergraduates
• Research Experiences and Mentoring
• STEM Access for Persons with Disabilities (STEM-APWD)
• Veterans Research Supplements

Encourage career-life balance and varied career paths

NSF activities help attract, retain, and support graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty along a variety of career paths in STEM fields.

• Career-Life Balance (CLB) initiative and CLB Supplemental Funding Requests
• Engineering Research Initiation (ERI)
• Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED)
• Mid-Career Advancement
• NSF Boosting Research Ideas for Transformative and Equitable Advances in Engineering (BRITE)
• Re-entry to Active Research (RARE)

Learn from colleagues

Hear from eminent engineering faculty and leaders about their experiences, the barriers to inclusion in engineering, and strategies for meaningful changes to increase participation of people of color:

Dive deeper

Learn about wider efforts and gain context for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• NSF Broadening Participation
• NSF Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) reports
• National Science Board's Vision 2030
• National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics data on the participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering