Associate Administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity, NASA, USA.

Brenda R. Manuel, NASA's Assistant Administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity, is responsible for developing and directing the agency's equal opportunity, civil rights compliance, and diversity strategies, programs and processes.  She established agency-wide policies on diversity and equal opportunity to ensure statutory, regulatory and fiduciary compliance with internal and external equal opportunity laws; and create an open and inclusive workplace.  In 2010 she was honored by the Society of Women Engineers as recipient of the President’s Award for her longtime efforts on behalf of women pursuing careers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Brenda Manuel spoke about "Title IX and Culture Change: Advancing Gender Diversity in STEM Fields" at the Gender Summit 3 North America 2013. Title IX has been the law since 1972.  In the 40 years since passage of Title IX, we've seen tremendous growth in gender diversity in fields like medicine, law, and business.  Yet there remains a dearth of women in some STEM fields, especially physics, and engineering disciplines such as aerospace, mechanical, and electrical.  How can Title IX be used to help advance gender diversity in these fields?  How can implementation of the law and its regulations help to create culture change in STEM program environments?  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as a Federal funding agency for STEM programs, enforces Title IX through compliance reviews of grant recipient institutions.  NASA's Title IX efforts, including its highly innovative approaches to outreach and technical assistance, are designed not only to ensure compliance with the law, but also to identify promising practices for advancing diversity and inclusion in STEM, and to facilitate an ongoing national dialogue about the D&I in STEM.