Case Studies

woman presenting to audience.

The NAVIGATE Project case studies were created as part of an NSF-funded project to develop a training program to help female STEM graduate students recognize—and devise strategies for dealing with—gender-based inequity, bias, and discrimination in the workplace.  

A key component of The NAVIGATE Project is the development of a series of case studies with female STEM protagonists which promote strategic thinking, problem solving, and decision making around these issues. All of the cases are based on the real experiences of women in the workplace, with names, places, and, in some cases, certain details changed to maintain confidentiality. 

The case study materials on this website are made available through a Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International. In summary, all are free to share and/or adapt the materials for non-commercial purposes, as long as proper attribution is given. We encourage users to modify the cases to meet your own goals and objectives and the needs of your target audience. Permission to adapt a case is not necessary. Adapted cases however must cite the original title of the case and the name(s) of the original author(s). 

Case Study Training Materials

  • Ayesha and the Trade Show
    3/21/23
    A junior engineer who has just returned from representing her company at her first trade show is excited to present her report, but she leaves the meeting confused by her senior director’s muted reaction.
  • Kaira and the Big Pitch
    3/21/23
    An early-career engineer is passed over by the CEO of her firm for the lead role in delivering a pitch to a valuable external potential client.
  • Michelle and the Grant Proposal
    3/21/23
    An early-career faculty member tries to obtain a letter of support for a grant application from her department chair, but senses that he is reluctant to provide it.
  • Rachel Frank - Conflicted at Work
    3/21/23
    An early-career engineer is first befriended by, and then becomes romantically entangled with, a more senior and more powerful colleague at work, leading to a number of conflicts of interest.

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