Higher Education and STEM - Diversity Best Practices · Setting Precedent in support of Women/Ethnic Minorities in STEM: While research shows that many recruiters are paying less

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Trends and Best Practices Women & Ethnic Minorities

Entering STEM Fields

Higher Education and STEM

Focus on:

January, 2017


Thefollowingreportprovidesanoverviewoftrendsandoutcomesforwomenandracial/ethnicminoritiesinterestedinpursuingaSTEMcareerandadvancementintheprofession.ThereportalsolooksathighschooltoundergraduateandgraduatemajorsbestabletoensureasuccessfulSTEM(science,technology,engineeringandmathematics)careersandthehighereducationinstitutionsandcompanyprogramssupportingthegrowthofthepipeline.Anoverviewofjoboutlooksandcollegecapabilitiesisalsocovered.Contentoverview:

1. StatisticsongirlsstudyingSTEMinhighschoolfollowedbymajoringinSTEMincollege

a. Specificfocusonunderrepresentedgroups–AfricanAmerican,Hispanicandstudentsfromthelowerendofthesocio-economicspectrum

2. DoSTEMfocusedcompanieswanttohirewomenandracial/ethnicminorities?a. WhatSTEMareaoffocusismostvaluableforwomentostudytoensurea

positionfollowinggraduationinthefield?b. Wherearewomenmosthighlyvaluedand/orwanted?c. Istherevalueinadvanceddegrees,master’sdegreeorMBAintheSTEM

careers?3. InformationonspecificjobsavailableonBLS

4. Whatareothercolleges/universitiesdoinginthisspace?

a. IvyLeaguesthathavespecificSTEMprogramsforwomen


1TECH,FINANCE,LIFESCIENCESStepped-upeffortstoadvanceWomeninSTEMInthepasttwoyears,therehasbeenasignificantincreaseinthefocusonwomenanddiversityinSTEM.Thetechnology,financeandsciencesindustrieshavepublicallysteppeduptheireffortstoincreasetheirgenderrepresentation.Techcompanieswereundersignificantpublicscrutinyfortheirlackofgenderrepresentation.Inresponse,severalcompanies,ledbyIntel,publicallysharedtheirstatistics,challengesandgoalstoachievegreatergenderandethnicdiversity.Pinterest,Salesforce,Twitterandothersfollowedsuit.Intelinvestedaportionoftheir$300milliondiversitybudgettoachievea40%femalehirerate-agoalthattheyhadneverbeenclosetoachieving.Intelrecentlyannounceda43.1percentachievementrate.2AsrecentlyasJan11,2017,acoalitionof100Biopharmcompaniesalignedduringtheirannualconferencetosignanopenlettercommittingtogreatergenderparityandrepresentationattheircompanies.ThiseffortwaslargelyaresultoffindingsfromanEYstudyongenderinlifesciencesandsomepressureatlastyear’sBioPharmconferenceregardingthedismalresultsoffemalerepresentation,despitecommitmentstodiversity.3TheUNWomeninitiativeHeforShecampaignandtheThirtyPercentCoalitionhavebeenprimarilyledandchampionedbyfinancialinstitutionssuchasJPMorganChase,Bloomberg,EY,ThomsonReutersandothers.AdditionalexamplesofSTEMCompanieswithHiringInitiativesforMinorities:

● Intelisallocating$300Mtoanewdiversityinitiative.Accordingtoa2015Fortune.comarticle,“ThatincludesfundingprogramsthatteachSTEMtoyoungpeopleinunderservedareas,collaboratingwithhighereducationinstitutions,investinginwomenandminority-ownedcompaniesandcreatingbolderhiringandretentionincentivesandprogramstoencouragediversitywithinIntel.Thegoal?Toachieve“fullrepresentation”ofwomenandminoritiesby2020—a.k.a.employaworkforcethatismorerepresentativeofactualdemographics.”

● eBay:ThetechcompanyispartneringwithYear-Up,“whichtakesyoungadultsinlowersocialeconomicstatusandtrainthemfor6monthsbeforeplacingthemattopSiliconValleycompanies.There,theylearnhowtodoentryleveltechjobsand,ifthey’resuccessfulatit,theyhirethem.It'sanontraditionalwaytofilltheSTEMpipelineandliftpeopleoutofpovertyatthesametime…”says,KellyMinton,headofCIOcommunicationsandCIOengagementstrategyateBay.


TheDATA:Racial/EthnicMinoritiesandWomeninSTEMfromhighschooltoworkplace.U.S.CensusdatafromFebruary2016showsthatwomenmakeup14percentofengineers,around45percentofmathematiciansandstatisticiansand47percentoflifescientists.But,thenumberofwomeninSTEMisslowlytrendingupwards.DatashowsthattheSTEMworkforcewascomprisedof26percentwomenin2011,comparedto23percentin1990.A2012reportbyMyCollegeOptions,STEMconnectorandfundedbyCisco,highlightsseveralcompellingstatistics.Belowareexcerptsoftheexecutivesummary.4Sincethegraduatingclassof2004,overallinterestinSTEMmajorsandcareersamonghighschoolseniorshasincreasedbyover20percent.ArguablythemostconcerningtrendwithstudentsinterestedinSTEMistheincreasinggender-gap.FemalestudentsexpressSTEMinterestat14.5percentcomparedto39.6percentfortheirmalecounterparts.Since2011,interestinSTEMhasgrownandisprojectedtocontinuerisingforAsian,Hispanic,AmericanIndianandWhitestudents.TheSouthernregionoftheUShasthehighestconcentration(36%)ofstudentsinterestedinSTEM.In2012,MechanicalEngineering(20.4%)wasthemostpopularmajororcareerchoiceamongSTEM-interestedstudents,whileBiologywassecondat11.9percent.AmericanIndianstudentsarethemostlikelytobeinterestedinEngineering,comparedtostudentsofotherethnicgroups.FemalestudentsaresignificantlymorelikelytobeinterestedintheSTEMmajors/careersofBiology,Chemistry,MarineBiologyandScience.EngineeringandTechnologyinterestsareontherise,whileinterestinScienceandMathematicshasdecreasedoverthepastfewyears.In2012,theUSSTEMworkforcesurpassed7.4millionworkersanditisexpectedtogrowsignificantlythrough2018,toanestimated8.65millionworkers.In2012,accountantsandauditorscomprisedthelargestnumberofSTEM-relatedjobsintheUSwithover1.66million,anumberthatwasprojectedtoincreaseto1.78millionby2016.CurrentlythemanufacturingsectorfacesalargeshortageofemployeeswithSTEMskills.Alarmingly,600,000manufacturingjobsaregoingunfilledinspiteofcurrenteconomicconditions.Itwasestimatedthatbetween2011and2015,1.7millionjobsweretobecreatedincloudcomputinginNorthAmerica.AnothernoteworthyincreaseinSTEMjobshascomecourtesyofmobileapplication(“apps”)technology,whichhasfostered311,000jobsinthe“appeconomy.”By2018,thebulkofSTEMjobswillbeinComputing(71%)followedbyTraditionalEngineering(16%),PhysicalSciences(7%),LifeSciences(4%)andMathematics(2%).NOTE:ThestudentdatausedinthisreportisdrawnprimarilyfromMyCollegeOptions’annualsurveyof5.5millionhighschoolstudents,whichcovers95percentofU.S.high


schools.ThedatafortheSTEMemploymentoutlookandprojectionscomesfromtheBureauofLaborStatistics(BLS)andtheEconomicModelingSpecialistsInternational(EMSI).Accordingtoa2013USDept.ofEducationstatisticalanalysisreportonSTEMattrition,“Students’experiencesorperceptionsofinstitutionandworkplacecontext/climatemayberelatedtoSTEMattritionaswell.Suchfactorsincludeinadequateacademicadvising,careercounseling,andinstitutionsupport…”Thisdiscouragementissystemicandnormalized,however,therearemanypipelineeffortsfromwomenandunderrepresentedminoritiestoexcelandremainintheSTEMfield.Thevisibilityofwomenandmembersofunderrepresentedcommunitiesarecrucialtoinnovation,competition,andthefosteringofcreativity.EarlySTEMGenderandEthnicityGapsMathskillsareconsideredessentialtosuccessinSTEMfields.Historically,boyshaveoutperformedgirlsinmath,butinthepastfewdecadesthegendergaphasnarrowed,andin2008girlsweredoingaswellasboysinmathonaverage(Hydeetal.,2008).Girlsareearninghighschoolmathandsciencecreditsatthesamerateasboysandareearningslightlyhighergradesintheseclasses(U.S.DepartmentofEducation,NationalCenterforEducationStatistics,seefigures1and2).In2008,onhigh-stakesmathtests,however,boyscontinuetooutscoregirls,albeitbyasmallmargin.AsmallgendergappersistsonthemathematicssectionoftheSATandtheACTexaminations(Halpern,Benbow,etal.,2007;AAUW,2008).Fewergirlsthanboystakeadvancedplacement(AP)examsinSTEM-relatedsubjectssuchascalculus,physics,computerscience,andchemistry.5In2016,femalestudents'achievementinmathematicsandscienceisstillonparwiththeirmalepeersandfemalestudentsparticipateinhighlevelmathematicsandsciencecoursesatsimilarratesastheirmalepeers,withtheexceptionofcomputerscienceandengineering.6Largergapsexistbetweenstudentsofdifferentracialandethnicbackgroundsorfamilyincome,withwhiteandAsian/PacificIslanderstudentsandthosefromhigherincomefamiliesscoringhigherthantheircounterpartswhoareblack,Hispanic,orAmericanIndian/AlaskaNativeorwhoarefromlowerincomefamilies.Otherstatstoconsider:In2005,31percentofAsianAmericanand16percentofwhitehighschoolgraduatescompletedcalculus,comparedwith6percentand7percentofAfricanAmericanandHispanichighschoolgraduates,respectively.Additionally,one-quarterofAsianAmericanandone-tenthofwhitehighschoolgraduatestookeithertheAPorInternationalBaccalaureateexamincalculus,comparedwithjust3.2percentofAfricanAmericanand5.6percentofHispanicgraduates7



TransitioningfromHighSchooltoHigherEducation

Theratesofscienceandengineeringcoursetakingforgirls/womenshiftattheundergraduatelevelandgenderdisparitiesbegintoemerge,especiallyforminoritywomen.8

● Womenearned57.3percentofbachelor’sdegreesinallfieldsin2013and50.3percentofscienceandengineeringbachelor’sdegrees.However,women’sparticipationinscienceandengineeringattheundergraduatelevelsignificantlydiffersbyspecificfieldofstudy.Whilewomenreceiveoverhalfofbachelor’sdegreesawardedinthebiologicalsciences,theyreceivefarfewerinthecomputersciences(17.9%),engineering(19.3%),physicalsciences(39%)andmathematics(43.1%).

● In2012,11.2percentofbachelor’sdegreesinscienceandengineering,8.2percentofmaster’sdegreesinscienceandengineering,and4.1percentofdoctoratedegreesinscienceandengineeringwereawardedtominoritywomen.9

● In2012,3.1percentofbachelor’sdegreesinengineering,6.5percentofbachelor’sdegreesinphysicalsciences,5.4percentofbachelor’sdegreesinmathematicsandstatistics,4.8percentofbachelor’sdegreesincomputersciences,9.7percentofbachelor’sdegreesinbiologicalsciences,and14.2percentofbachelor’sdegreesinsocialscienceswereawardedtominoritywomen.10



IvyLeagues,CollegesandUniversities:SettingPrecedentinsupportofWomen/EthnicMinoritiesinSTEM:Whileresearchshowsthatmanyrecruitersarepayinglessattentiontohighereducationbackground,theexceptionsareinSTEMandfinance.Theseareasstillrelyonhighereducationpedigreeinadditiontothetransferableskillsexperiencecandidatesareabletodemonstrate.ManycollegesanduniversitiesareincreasinglyfocusedonclosingthegendergapinSTEM.Forbesrecentlycompiledalistofthetop13schoolsforwomeninStem,BestValueforSTEMCareers.

● CornellUniversity:51percentfemaleenrollment,30percentinSTEM● PrincetonUniversity:AccordingtoanArticle,“thestudentchapterofEngineers

WithoutBordershasanexecutiveboardthatisnearly70percentfemale,reflectingtheoverallclubcomposition.Seventypercentoftheuniversity’sstudent-runSustainableEngineeringandDevelopmentScholarsprogramisalsofemale.”

● RiceUniversityDREAM.DREAMseekstoincreasethenumberofunderrepresentedminoritystudentsinSTEMdegreeprograms,particularlyengineering.DREAMisstructuredonafoundationoflong-termmentoring.TheprogramsendsateamofRiceSTEMundergraduatestomentorandteachstudentsinHoustonareahighschoolstoencouragethemtopursuecollegedegreesinSTEMfields.

● TheMITWomen'sTechnologyProgram(WTP)isarigorousfour-weeksummeracademicandresidentialexperiencewherefemalehighschoolstudentsexploreengineeringthroughhands-onclasses,labs,andteam-basedprojectsinthesummerafter11thgrade.StudentsattendWTPineitherElectricalEngineeringandComputerScience(EECS)orMechanicalEngineering(ME)

● TheRANDreportdidanextensivestudyondiversityinSTEMinresponseandsupportoftheDepartmentofDefenseDiversitySummit.Thisreporthighlightscost,impactandmetricssupportingthebuildingofdiversepipelines,severalprogramsofwhichareincollaborationwithuniversitiesandHigherEducation.11

● ThroughthepreviouslymentionedUnitedNationscreatedHeforSheinitiative,womeninSTEMhasbeenbolsteredaswell.UniversitiessuchasMexico’sNationalAutonomousUniversityofMexico(UNAM)havecreatedstrongwomeninengineeringpipelinesoutofMexico.


GlobalUniversityProgramsSupportingGender/EthnicityinSTEM

UNAM(NationalAutonomousUniversityofMexico)maleprofessorsworkingtoincludemorewomenincomputerengineeringbycreatingcivictechnologytogether.InMexico,theNationalAutonomousUniversityofMexico(UNAM)supportsthecampaignHeForShe.UNAMhashistoricallyorganizedseveraleventsandprogramstoempowerwomen,sothiscampaignwaswellalignedwiththeuniversity'sprinciples,whichfacilitatedtheuniversity'sparticipation.WithintheHeForShecampaign,theuniversityhasorganizedeventswherewomenandmencollaborateandinnovatetogether.UNAMhasalsoopenedforumswherewomenandmensharetheirexperiencesregardingdiscrimination,andbestpracticestoovercomeit.HeForShehasparticularlyofferedaplatformwhereUNAMcouldcontinuetoincludewomen,especiallyintechfieldsUNAM'sefforts,aswellasthatofotherorganizationsintheregion,havehelpedtopositionMexicoasacountrywithahighnumberofwomenengineers.Aroundtheworld,ViceChancellorsandPresidentsofuniversitiesareparticipantsintheinitiative.

● Brazil:UniversityofSãoPaulo● Canada:UniversityofWaterloo● France:SciencesPo(Institutd'étudespolitiquesdeParis)● HongKong:UniversityofHongKong● Japan:NagoyaUniversity● SouthAfrica:UniversityoftheWitwatersrand● UnitedKingdom:UniversityofLeicesterandUniversityofOxford

https://www.womeninscience.ox.ac.uk/topics● UnitedStatesofAmerica:GeorgetownUniversityRegentScholarsProgramand

StonyBrookUniversity


Otherstatstoconsider:Allotherfactorsbeingequal,bachelor’sdegreeSTEMentrantswhofirstattendedpublic4-yearinstitutionshadahigherprobabilityofleavingSTEMbyswitchingmajorsthanthosewhostartedatprivatenonprofit4-yearinstitutions.Bachelor’sdegreeSTEMentrantswhoweremaleorwhocamefromlow-incomebackgroundshadahigherprobabilityofleavingSTEMbydroppingoutofcollegethantheirpeerswhowerefemaleorcamefromhigh-incomebackgrounds,netofotherfactors.Similarly,bachelor’sdegreeSTEMentrantswhofirstattendedinstitutionsthatwereamongtheleastselectivehadahigherprobabilityofleavingSTEMduetodroppingoutthanstudentswhofirstattendedhighlyselectiveinstitutions.12STEMWomenintheWorkplace:Intransitioningfromcollegetotheworkplace,MBAsareservinglessimportancetoSTEMpositionsoccupiedbymen,butthisisnottrueforwomen.

● EngineersarethesecondlargestSTEMoccupationalgroup,butonlyaboutoneout

ofeverysevenengineersisfemale.● ForeverydollarearnedbyamaninSTEM,awomanearns14centsless,smaller

thanthe21percentgenderwagegapinnon-STEMoccupations,butacleargenderdisparitynonetheless.

STEMWorkforce2016

● Accordingtoa2016Forbes.comarticle,womencomprise48percentoftheU.S.workforcebutjust24percentofSTEMworkersand29percentofthescienceandengineeringworkforce.“U.S.CensusdatafromFebruary2016showsthatwomenmakeup14percentofengineers,around45percentofmathematiciansandstatisticiansand47percentoflifescientists.

● Datashows,thenumberofwomeninSTEMhadbeenslowlytrendingupwardspriorto2016.TheSTEMworkforcewascomprisedof26percentwomenin2011,24percentin2009,comparedto23percentin1990.”


● Womenremainunderrepresentedinthescienceandengineeringworkforce,withthegreatestdisparitiesoccurringinengineering,computerscience,andthephysicalsciences.13

● Femalescientistsandengineersareconcentratedindifferentoccupationsthanaremen,withrelativelyhighsharesofwomeninthesocialsciences(62%)andbiological,agricultural,andenvironmentallifesciences(48%)andrelativelylowsharesinengineering(15%)andcomputerandmathematicalsciences(25%).

Forexample:

○ 35.2%ofchemistsarewomen;○ 11.1%ofphysicistsandastronomersarewomen;○ 33.8%ofenvironmentalengineersarewomen;○ 22.7%ofchemicalengineersarewomen;○ 17.5%ofcivil,architectural,andsanitaryengineersarewomen;○ 17.1%ofindustrialengineersarewomen;○ 10.7%ofelectricalorcomputerhardwareengineersarewomen;and○ 7.9%ofmechanicalengineersarewomen.

Raceandethnicityaresalientfactorsinratesofparticipationinthescienceandengineeringworkforce.14

● TheU.S.scienceandengineeringworkforcehasbecomemorediverse,butseveralracialandethnicminoritygroupscontinuetobesignificantlyunderrepresented.

● In2013,70%ofworkersinscienceandengineeringoccupationswerewhite,whichisclosetotheproportionintheU.S.workingagepopulation.

● Hispanics,blacks,andAmericanIndians/AlaskaNativesmakeupasmallershareofthescienceandengineeringworkforce(11%)thantheirproportioninthegeneralpopulation(27%ofU.S.workingagepopulation).

● Asiansworkinscienceandengineeringoccupationsathigherrates(17%)thantheirrepresentationintheU.S.working-agepopulation(5%).Asiansareparticularlyhighlyconcentratedincomputerandinformationscienceoccupations.

● Theincreaseinfemaleparticipationinscienceandengineeringoverthepasttwodecadesincludesincreasingparticipationbymembersofallracialandethnicgroups,especiallyHispanicandAsianwomen.

● Minoritywomencomprisefewerthan1in10employedscientistsandengineers15


OrganizationsSupportingWomeninSTEM:WorldWideLearnlist’sthe15organizationsworkingtoimprovewomen’sandgirlsinterestandsuccessinSTEMfields.NationalGirlsCollaborativeProject(NGCP):ThegoalsofNGCPareto:

1. Maximizeaccesstosharedresourceswithinprojects,withpublicandprivatesectororganizationsandinstitutionsinterestedinexpandinggirls’participationinSTEM.

2. Strengthencapacityofexistingandevolvingprojectsbysharingexemplarypracticeresearchandprogrammodels,outcomes,andproducts.

3. Usetheleverageofanetworkandthecollaborationofindividualgirl-servingSTEMprogramstocreatethetippingpointforgenderequityinSTEM.

MillionWomenMentors(MWM):MillionWomenMentorssupportstheengagementofonemillionScience,Technology,EngineeringandMath(STEM)mentors(maleandfemale)toincreasetheinterestandconfidenceofgirlsandwomentopersistandsucceedinSTEMprogramsandcareers.MWMisaninitiativeofSTEMconnectorincollaborationwithover60+partnersreachingover30milliongirlsandwomen,45+corporatesponsors,and35+stateleadershipteams.WomeninEngineeringProactiveNetwork(WEPAN):Accordingtocollegeraptor.com,“WEPAN“workstotransformcultureinengineeringeducationtoattract,retain,andgraduatewomen.”Tothisend,WEPANsupportsanetworkoffemaleengineeringstudentsatover150campusesacrossthecountry,reaching60percentofthefemaleengineeringstudentpopulation.Themainmissionofthenetworkistomaketheatmosphereofengineering–incollegeandbeyond–moreamenabletowomen.”WhatistheOpportunityMovingForward?Theopportunitymovingforwardisforcompaniestocollaboratewithhighereducationtoworktowardsclosingthegenderandpayequitygapandtostrengthenprogramsforunderrepresentedethnicpopulations.EvenatIvyLeagueschoolstheearningsgapbygendercontinuestosignificant.


GraphicbytheNewYorkTimes,usedwithpermission.


2Fortunearticle1/15,ThePowerfulWomenbehindIntel’snew$300milliondiversityinitiative,http://fortune.com/2015/01/12/intel-diversity/3Massbio.org,AnOpenLettertotheBiopharmaCommunity,https://www.massbio.org/news/recent-news/an-open-letter-to-the-biopharma-community-129524EY,FindingFocusonGenderDiversityinLifeSciences,http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-finding-focus-on-gender-diversity-in-life-sciences/$FILE/EY-finding-focus-on-gender-diversity-in-life-sciences.pdf4WhySTEMStudentsSTEMJobsReport?https://www.discoveryeducation.com/feeds/www/media/images/stem-academy/Why_STEM_Students_STEM_Jobs_Full_Report.pdf5WhySoFewWomeninScience,Technology,EngineeringandMathematics?https://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/Why-So-Few-Women-in-Science-Technology-Engineering-and-Mathematics.pdf6NSF,Science&EngineeringIndicators,2016,https://nsf.gov/statistics/2016/nsb20161/#/7NationalScienceBoard,20088NSF,Science&EngineeringIndicators,2016,https://nsf.gov/statistics/2016/nsb20161/#/9NSF,Women,Minorities,andPeoplewithDisabilitiesinScienceandEngineering,2015,https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2015/nsf15311/10NSF,Women,Minorities,andPeoplewithDisabilitiesinScienceandEngineering,2015,https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2015/nsf15311/11RAND,FirstStepsTowardImprovingDoDSTEMWorkforceDiversity,2012,http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR300/RR329/RAND_RR329.pdf12STEMAttrition:CollegeStudentsPathsintoandOutofSTEMFields,NCES,2014https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014001rev.pdf13NSF,Science&EngineeringIndicators,201614NSF,Science&EngineeringIndicators,201615NSF,Women,Minorities,andPeoplewithDisabilitiesinScienceandEngineering,2015,https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2015/nsf15311/

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Higher Education and STEM - Diversity Best Practices · Setting Precedent in support of Women/Ethnic Minorities in STEM: While research shows that many recruiters are paying less