The William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics is committed to creating and maintaining an educational and professional environment that uplifts the marginalized and supports all members of our community.

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Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our department and to our mission as a public educational institution. Diversity brings new ideas and perspectives to engineering which are critical for more creative, inclusive and successful solutions and innovations. We strive to create a supportive learning and working community, grounded in these principles, to foster understanding, communication, respect, and collaboration among people with diverse backgrounds, ethnicity, nationality and experiences that are critical to tackling significant challenges as students, teachers, professionals, and members of society.

We believe

• A strong education can improve the lives of individuals and foster healthy, thriving communities that can close gaps due to disparities in opportunity and access.
• Factors such as income, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexuality, physical or learning differences, national origin, and faith have unjustly shaped many disparities in our society.
• Systemic biases exist in our society and our institutions, including academic institutions.

We commit to

• Recruit, welcome, and support faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds, specifically including individuals from historically underrepresented groups in aerospace engineering.
• Acknowledge, understand and directly confront the historical inequities in our field and the structures and barriers that have led to those inequities.

A&A's DEI initiatives

A&A's Diversity Committee completed the new UW DEI Rubric, a tool used to review and access the effectiveness of DEI efforts, initiatives, strategies as well as existing policies, practices, and written materials across the University. See how A&A scores now and next steps.

• DEI Committee: A&A's DEI Committee meets bi-monthly to discuss initiatives and communications for the A&A community to deepen their understanding of key issues to advance the department's collective understanding of and commitment to DEI. Contact: aa-dei@uw.edu
• Awake in Aero: A&A students lead regular discussions during the academic year to reflect on specific topics. Recent topics include Violence against the AAPI Community, an Examination of the Model Minority Myth, Inequities in Public School Opportunities for K-12 Students, and Understanding the Experiences of First-Generation College Students. Check our homepage calendar for upcoming dates. Contact: awake-in-aero@uw.edu
• WA Space Grant: A&A is now home to NASA's Washington State's Space Grant Consortium with programs to expand STEM pathways to students from underrepresented communities. Research fellowships, scholarships, and activities participating in NASA's Artemis Challenges, CubeSats, and more are available.

A&A's student organizations with a focus on diversity

• Women in Aerospace
• Students for the Exploration and Development of Space at the UW (2021 winner of the SEDS Chapter Diversity Award)

UW programs and organizations for diversity in STEM

• American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES)
• College of Engineering diversity and student programs
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
• Society of Advancing Chicanos and Native Americans in Sciences (SACNAS)
• Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
• Society of Women Engineers at UW

Office of minority affairs & diversity

The University of Washington Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMA&D) works to increase diversity on campus and enrich the collegiate experience of all UW students, faculty and staff.

GO-MAP

Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP) is at the heart of the Graduate School’s commitment to expanding graduate education to underrepresented minority (URM) communities.

Disability resources for students

Disability Resources for Students (DRS) is dedicated to ensuring access, accommodations, and inclusion for all students with temporary or permanent physical, health, learning, sensory or psychological differences.

Q Center

The University of Washington Q Center is a primarily student-run resource center dedicated to serving anyone with or without a gender or sexuality – UW students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members.

Scholarships, fellowships, & funding

There are many fellowships and scholarships specifically created to support access, persistence, and success for underrepresented communities in engineering.

Further reading on DEI and STEM

The College of Engineering has created a resource on "Anti-Racism and creating a welcoming environment for all" (UW NetID required) with invitations to reflect and consider the role each of us plays in creating a welcoming environment for all. The following list of resources is also helpful in understanding DEI in the context of STEM:

• Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators: Identifying & Developing our Nation's Human Capital (2010) by the National Science Board.
• Broadening Participation in Science & Engineering Faculty (2003) by the National Science Board.
• L. Ketzner, M. Aaronson, and L. Juliano, “How Women Can Help Close the Talent Gap in Aerospace and Defense”, Boston Consulting Group, Boston, Tech. Rep., 2019.
• C. A. Shapiro and L. J. Sax, “Major selection and persistence for women in STEM”, New Directions for Institutional Research, vol. 2011, no. 152, pp. 5–18, Dec. 2011.
• S. D. Herrmann, R. M. Adelman, J. E. Bodford, O. Graudejus, M. A. Okun, and V. S. Y. Kwan, “The Effects of a Female Role Model on Academic Performance and Persistence of Women in STEM Courses”, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 258–268, Sep. 2016.
• C. J. Nemeth and J. Wachtler, “Creative problem solving as a result of majority vs minority influence”, European Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 45–55, Jan. 1983.
• M. Estrada, M. Burnett, A. G. Campbell, P. B. Campbell, W. F. Denetclaw, C. G. Gutierrez, S. Hurtado, G. H. John, J. Matsui, R. McGee, C. M. Okpodu, T. J. Robinson, M. F. Summers, M. Werner- Washburne, and M. Zavala, “Improving Underrepresented Minority Student Persistence in STEM”, CBE—Life Sciences Education, vol. 15, no. 3, P. Marsteller, Ed., es5, Sep. 2016.
• C. Brinkworth, A. B. Skaer, C. Prescod-Weinstein, J. Teske, and S. Tuttle, “Building an Inclusive AAS - The Critical Role of Diversity and Inclusion Training for AAS Council and Astronomy Leadership”, arXiv, Oct. 2016. arXiv: 1610.02916.
• M. A. Eisenhart and E. Finkel, “Women’s Status and the Discourse of Gender Neutrality at Work”, in Women’s science: learning and succeeding from the margins, 1998.
• D. R. Johnson, M. Soldner, J. B. Leonard, P. Alvarez, K. K. Inkelas, H. T. Rowan-Kenyon, and S. D. Longerbeam, “Examining Sense of Belonging Among First-Year Undergraduates From Different Racial/Ethnic Groups”, Journal of College Student Development, vol. 48, no. 5, pp. 525–542, 2007. 
• D. R. Johnson, “Campus Racial Climate Perceptions and Overall Sense of Belonging Among Racially Diverse Women in STEM Majors”, Journal of College Student Development, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 336– 346, 2012.