Minorities In Science-Related Careers Essay

Malcolm Forbes describes diversity as “the art of thinking independently together.” In today’s society, thinking independently together is how we create solutions to imminent problems, especially in STEM fields. However, diversity of opinion requires a diversity of race, culture, and personal experience- characteristics that cannot be achieved if STEM workers are not representative of the demographics of our country. While great strides have been made to diversify the STEM field in the past 50 years, they have not been enough. More governmental programs must be implemented to give minority children in marginalized communities a fair chance at being successful in STEM fields, resulting in a more skilled workforce that is able to create diverse

As according to Linda S. Dix, it is not an easy matter to assess the magnitude of gender discrimination and how that affects the careers of scientists, both men and women, positively and negatively. Discrimination is often subtle and thus difficult to identify or locate. Due to its subtleness, it makes it difficult to measure since it can be entwined with other forms of particularism like age. As a result researchers have come to rely on indirect rather than direct measures of discrimination which was also propounded by Harriet Zuckerman. Most researchers have come to agree that differences in career attainments between men and women occur as an outcome of gender discrimination.

Throughout Gender and Race in the Physical Sciences, I have been struck by how rarely in STEM we shed a light on the women of color that already exist and thrive in the sciences. Often, when we discuss diversity in the sciences, we only discuss it in the frame of a problem. More specifically, we tend to focus on the problem of there not being enough of these women in the field. As a result of the lack of attention paid to pioneering women in STEM, many young people of all backgrounds are inclined to believe that there are no women of color doing great things in the field- that there are no role models. With this paper, and an on-campus event to be held in the spring, I hope to challenge people’s assumptions about what a scientist looks like, and inspire people through a discussion of innovative women of color.

The opposing side views that first of all, there’s lack of diversity in certain career fields and that’s why the government is encouraging minorities to join these career fields.. In “Minorities in science”, Daniel Koshland has stated the importance for diversity in the science field. “ If a minority is underrepresented in a category (i), there may be a pipeline problem where the solution requires encouragement of those individuals who have the talent to enter the profession and the message that discrimination is no longer tolerated” (2).

As a part of the HBCU Alumni Alliance’s Higher Education initiative program; Alumni of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are concerned about the inadequate representation of minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related professions. Consequently, DCHBCUAA STEM professionals have designed and organized an instructional hands-on STEM workshop for students in grades 10-12, to enlighten them on the different facets of professions available in the sciences. As a part of our community partnership with Kaiser Permanente, we have a workshop scheduled for Saturday, April 29, 2017, from 800 am-5:00 pm, at 2101 Jefferson Street in Rockville, Maryland.

Alumni of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are concerned about the inadequate representation of minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related professions. Consequently, DCHBCUAA STEM professionals have designed and organized an instructional hands-on workshop for students in grades 10-12. The workshop is designed to increase their awareness of the exciting opportunities available in the sciences and to provide an opportunity for students to talk to subject matter experts currently working in STEM occupations.

The force of societal stereotypes is a large part of this gap. Instead of joining STEM careers, the most common careers among women are secretaries, nurses, and elementary and middle school teachers (Mandell). This truly illustrates that when well-rounded, talented women have the choice, they are inclined to delve into the field in which society expects them to belong. In this way, the stereotype of women not being involved in STEM is forcing less women to be involved in these fields. The deficiency of women in technical fields, despite their well-roundedness and ability, can be directly related to unyielding cultural stereotypes that stigmatize women in supposedly masculine fields.

In a speech in February 2013 President Barak Obama said, “One of the things that I really strongly believe in is that we need to have more girls interested in math, science, and engineering. We’ve got half the population that is way underrepresented in those fields and that means that we’ve got a whole bunch of talent…not being encouraged the way they need to.” It been three years since President Obama has made that statement and the underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering and math as known as STEM majors is still a big problem today. The STEM workforce is crucial to Americas global competitiveness and groundbreaking capability. The people who work in the STEM field make up nearly half of the United

Summer Programs Help Prepare Minority Students for College STEM, Laura Perez, CHEM 1305, August 08, 2016

The AMSA chapter is composed of all types of students, these include White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Middle Eastern students. The general population is also split evenly between male and female students. The AMSA chapter recognizes that the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) field is composed mainly of white men. Minorities and women make a small percentage of individuals present in the STEM field due to the racial and gender bias they are often subjected to. The chapter understands how important it is to address the discrimination that many minority groups and women face on a daily basis as they continue to pursue an education in the STEM field during their pre med careers. It is due to this reason that AMSA has established the “Race Ethnicity and Culture of Health/ Gender and Sexuality (REACH/GS) Committee. This committee was designed specifically to encourage more women and minority groups to join AMSA. The committee’s main function is to present the different resources available for students belonging to these minority groups. For instance AMSA has hosted events in affiliation with other organizations on campus, such as BESSA (Black Engineering & Science Student Association) and the Cal Latin Pre Med Society. By hosting such events AMSA is able to create an inclusive environment for its members. Inclusivity is a very important factor of

Reyes summarizes the reasons why community college students from certain racial backgrounds struggle to get into STEM programs. African-American women, Hispanic women, and other women from similar backgrounds, in particular, drop out of STEM programs, citing reasons such as personal obligations and money issues. Minority women who pursue STEM degrees face hurdles other women simply do not. These include but are not limited to: a shortage of money, struggles adjusting to another college, and other obligations. In addition, individuals within the university do not believe in minority women as strongly as they believe in other students. There are many Caucasians in STEM programs, and some students from dissimilar backgrounds may not get the opportunity

This paper will give a brief overview of how bias, assumptions and diversity can impact the career counseling relationship. The impact of values, bias, and the ability to move beyond barriers in the counseling relationship is essential to successful outcomes in working with clients. The rationale for the appropriateness of multicultural counseling competency and the impact of culture in the counseling process will be discussed as will multicultural counseling in the framework of career counseling.

The Student Center for Science Engagement (SCSE) at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), was established in 2008 with the mission to support students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEM disciplines with the challenges they face in their academic and career development. Mentoring relationships, critical components of the SCSE’s influence, are fostered by the SCSE’s advisors, mostly Ph.D.-level minority scientists. Accessibility to STEM professionals who reflect the student population has allowed students to envision themselves as scientists. SCSE advisors have systematically implemented holistic advising including but not limited to major and career exploration,

Today’s college students have the opportunity and freedom to choose their major and their career path. Many factors influence the decision of a college student’s career paths including background, general interests, personal strengths, time commitment, and job outlook. Although many important decisions are made in college, one of the most important is the choice of major and career track. Out of hundreds of majors the science and engineering fields are under-represented by women. Although the numbers of women in science technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM, majors has been increasing in the past years, women still are in the minority in the STEM fields. In her study, Lona Whitmarsh

areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics employers are not getting enough women (Pozniak). High school girls only represent 17 percent of computer science Advance Placement (AP) test takers (O'Shea). The most significant group of minorities who are behind in earning computer technology degrees and working in science and mathematical professions are women. “Historically, women’s low representation in science and engineering was said to be due in large part of their lack of ability, interest, or both” (Horning 30). However, this is no longer a true fact according to Ward. Some suggestions to increasing the amount of women in sciences include introducing already present women faculty as mentors. Over the last three decades,