In July 2015, U.S. News hosted a symposium on ways to attract women and minorities to STEM fields in higher education.
Discuss the disparity in STEM fields in your next research paper. (Credit: OnlineUniversities.com)
Good research paper topics for a science and technology or engineering class could be to discuss the disparity of women and minorities in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers and ways to encourage more participation.
Attract women to STEM college programs
There are programs that help bring more women to STEM classes in higher education, and investigating their histories and goals could make a good research paper topic. According to a McKinsey & Company survey, the United States ranked last out of nine countries (which included India, Brazil, Mexico and Saudi Arabia) to attract high-potential women to STEM fields of study in college. To improve that performance, Dr. Ana Carnaval, City College of New York (CCNY) assistant professor of biology, is encouraging women to join her program. She instituted the CCNYWinS group of women faculty and students who participate in a training program that provides mentors and role models.
In “Championing Women in Science” in Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, April 2, 2015, Carnaval told Cristina Rojas of her group: “They go to women-related events, they talk about their work. It’s a buddy system.” She added that for women and minorities, academic and social support is essential for beating the odds stacked against them. According to the National Science Foundation, women and minorities in the sciences have fewer tenured professorships than men and receive less federal funding.
Other programs that are encouraging women and girls to enter STEM fields include:
- Tech Savvy, founded by Tamara Brown of Praxair
- The White House Council on Girls, in collaboration with the Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Women in Engineering outreach programs at universities, including Purdue University
- National Girls Collaborative Project
- The SciGirls Seven from PBS
- Google’s Made With Code
Keeping career women in STEM fields
Women, who traditionally take a more prominent role in child rearing, especially lose out in STEM careers. They may attain a certain level of seniority, yet decide to put their career on hold to raise a family. Workplace options that can allow them to keep seniority and also work up in their career include: flexible scheduling, part-time work, work from home, contract and special work projects, and job sharing.
Companies must hire more minorities in STEM
Another term paper topic could be to cover initiatives for attracting minorities to STEM careers. One of the panelists at the U.S. News symposium was Chad Womack, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) national director of STEM education initiatives. In “Retaining Women and Minorities at STEM Companies,” published in U.S. News, July 2, 2015, Lylah Alphonse wrote that the UNCF is encouraging companies to hire more African Americans in STEM fields. “We’re on the supply side of the equation,” Womack said at the symposium.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has begun a new initiative called ICE (innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship) with the goal of promoting STEM at historically black colleges and universities. ICE programs promote a culture of innovation, hands-on learning opportunities, business start-ups, competitive coaching and networking among entrepreneurs. ICE is effective because, as Womack says: “It’s not that we don’t have smart, talented students and faculty – we do… It’s that they’re disconnected from the reality of the tech field.”
Societal effects of lack of STEM graduates
What are the societal effects of disparity in STEM jobs? New York Times columnist and journalist Charles M. Blow commented in “A Future Segregated by Science?” posted on February 2, 2015, that the lack of women and minorities in STEM fields may contribute to economic inequality. “Will our future be highly delineated by who does and who doesn’t have a science education (and the resulting higher salary), making for even more entrenched economic inequality by race and gender?” asked Blow. Those effects could also make good research paper topics.
According to a 2013 New York Times editorial, women are half the workforce, yet hold 26 percent of STEM jobs; blacks are 11 percent of the workforce, yet hold 6 percent of STEM jobs; and Hispanics are 15 percent of the workforce, yet hold 7 percent of STEM jobs. Blow asked, “Is this an area in which the future will feel more stratified, and in which the inequalities, particularly economic ones, will mount?”
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What are some other ways to attract women and minorities to STEM fields?