Research Blog #10

Abstract:
This research paper looks into the lack of diversity in STEM. All throughout the STEM field white and Asian males are the vast majority. This paper evaluates why “the STEM workforce is no more diverse now than in 2001” (Bidwell). In short, the answer to this question is seen in the underlying sense of racism and sexism in America. Furthermore, minorities are put at a disadvantage from a young age. Even though a number of things are being done to combat this unfortunate norm, they are not making the kind of drastic impact needed if America is going to survive as an economic powerhouse in the world. These efforts include everything from mentorship programs to even new laws being implemented. However, as mentioned before, diversity in STEM continues to stagnate. This is a huge problem for America. Diversity in STEM revolves around the theoretical claim that minorities thus far have been an “untapped resource.” As an economy, America must be able to reach this resource, otherwise the consequences will be detrimental. This paper will evaluate specifically what will go wrong and why this is. 

Works Cited:

Alegria, Sharla N, and Enobong Hannah Branch. “Causes and Consequences of Inequality in the STEM: Diversity and Its Discontents.” Genderandset, International Journal of Gender, Science, and Technology, file:///C:/Users/tripl/Documents/ResearchDisciplines/Causes%20and%20Consequences.pdf.

Baber, Lorenzo Dubois. “Color-Blind Liberalism in Postsecondary STEM Education.” Diversifying STEM: Multidisciplinary Perpectives on Race and Gender, edited by Ebony O McGee and William H Robinson, Rutgers University Press, 2019, pp. 19–35.

Bidwell, Allie. “STEM Workforce No More Diverse Than 14 Years Ago.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 24 Feb. 2015, www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2015/02/24/stem-workforce-no-more-diverse-than-14-years-ago

Briggs, C. (2017). THE POLICY OF STEM DIVERSITY: Diversifying STEM Programs in Higher Education. Journal of STEM Education, 17(4),. Laboratory for Innovative Technology in Engineering Education (LITEE). Retrieved February 28, 2020 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/174403/.

Chapman, Robbin. “Rendering the Invisible Visible: Student Successs in Exclusive Excellence STEM Environments.” Diversifying STEM: Multidisciplinary Perpectives on Race and Gender, edited by Ebony O McGee and William H Robinson, Rutgers University Press, 2019, pp. 36–52.

Hurst, Charles E., et al. Social Inequality: Forms, Causes, and Consequences. 9th ed., Routledge, 2017.

Hutton, Carrie. “Using Role Models to Increase Diversity in STEM.” Technology and Engineering Teacher, vol. 79, no. 3, Nov. 2019, pp. 16–19. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1232265&site=ehost-live

Madden, Krystal, et al. “Cartographies of Race, Gender, and Class in the White (Male Settler) Spaces of Science and Mathematics: Navigations by Black, Afro-Brazillian, and Pakistani/American Women.” Diversifying STEM: Multidisciplinary Perpectives on Race and Gender, edited by

Ebony O McGee and William H Robinson, Rutgers University Press, 2019, pp. 69–106.

McGee, Ebony O., and William H. Robinson. Diversifying STEM: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Race and Gender. Rutgers University Press, 2020.

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, National Center for Education Statistics, nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data.

Research Blog #9

My argument in the form of a thesis statement is, there is a severe problem in term of diversity in STEM. Women and minorities have to deal with constant biases and disadvantages. Although mentorship programs and law changes have tried to help, they have not been good enough. If this continues America’s economy will suffer. This can be asserted in the form of four research questions. Why do STEM fields suffer from a lack of diversity? Does a lack of opportunity cause this or do people still have gender and racial biases that put minorities at a disadvantage? What is and can be done to change this? What if things just stay the same? The first two research questions relate to each other because the reason why STEM is not diverse is because of a lack of opportunity and personal biases. Mentorship and law changes address the second question because that is what is mainly being done to combat this. However, it is not making enough impact so things may stay the same. If this happens, then America's economy will suffer. There are not enough white and Asian males to cover all the future jobs in the growing STEM field. An argument that tries to counter this claims that the White population in STEM has actually been decreasing since 1960. While yes, the world is a lot more diverse now than 60 years ago, this does not necessarily mean positivity. A closer inspection of the graph shows diversity has not increased since 2001. Diversity has stagnated for 20 years and this is not good enough. 

Research Blog #8

My case comes from "Cartographies of Race, Gender, and Class in the White (Male Settler) Spaces of Science and Mathematics." This study evaluates the life of three different students, all of whom have to go through their own hardships in being accepted within the STEM field. Krystal had to deal with American stereotypes her entire life. However, with the help of mentors, she is able to get through all of this and get her Master’s degree. Priscila compares how different America is to other countries. America is far worse in terms in diversity and racial and gender biases. Lastly, Sara unfortunately is not able to break through American racism and sexism, and as a result does not achieve her dreams. This directly relates to my paper on STEM diversity because it displays the hardships minority students have to go through. Furthermore, this case also addresses mentorhsip programs and role models through Krystal. 

Research Blog #7

The academic frame utilized throughout my paper is the idea that women and minorities are untapped resources. One way this relates to my paper is through the well-being of the American economy. 

“This perspective maintains that the overwhelming uniformity of the U.S. STEM workforce (84 percent are White or Asian men) jeopardizes national scientific and technical achievement… and positions minoritized people of color as an untapped resource…” (McGee and Robinson 1). Right now there are more STEM jobs available than White or Asian men can handle by themselves. If this continues there will be a shortage of STEM workers. This is why it is important for America to reach its untapped resource. “In the final analysis, if the United States is to survive as a dominating economic, technological, and military force within the world, it must make a significant investment within its own human resources" (Briggs). The United States needs to get more of its people involved in STEM, especially minorities and women. If given the resources, they have the potential to thrive in STEM, and the American economy will stay atop of the World.

Liturature Review Blog Post #4

The article used for this review is called, "Causes and Consequences of Inequality in the STEM: Diversity and its Discontents," by Sharla N. Alegria and Enobong Hannah Branch.

1) Picture-

2) Citation- 

Alegria, Sharla N, and Enobong Hannah Branch. “Causes and Consequences of Inequality in the STEM: Diversity and Its Discontents.” Genderandset, International Journal of Gender, Science, and Technology,file:///C:/Users/tripl/Documents/ResearchDisciplines/Causes%20and%20Consequences.pdf

3) Brief Summary-

This article attacks the issue of a lack of diversity in STEM from a different angle. It actually provides statistics and graphs that show that diversity has actually improved in recent years among white men and white women. White men are gradually taking up smaller percentages of the total STEM population. In short, the aritcle provides hope that efforts to create more diversity is finally working. 

4) About the Author- 

Sharla N. Alegria works in the department of sociology at the University of Massachusetts. She has a PhD in sociology from the school she works at with a graduate certificate in Advanced Feminist Studies. Her areas of specialization include race and gender sciences. Her disertation was written with Enobong Hannah Branch on immigrants in the workforce. 

5) Key Terms- 

"Social Science" is thee study of human society and social relationships. Alegria and Branch study social relationships in STEM and how being a minority shifts the perspectives of others.

"Computing" in terms of this article refers to a particular field in STEM in which there is a decreasing amont of white males.

6) Quotes-

"In 1960, nearly 90% of scientists and engineers were White men, but this number fell sharply, roughly 10% each decade, until 2000 when the percentage of Computing workers who are White men begins to level off at about 50%" (Alegria and Branch 331).

"While immigrants are highly successful in entering the American scientific workforce, they do so with severe restrictions that bind their legal status in the country to the good faith of their employers" (Alegria and Branch 339).

7) Value-

This article is very valuable because it is the only source that provides a sense of controversy. All other sources talk about how diversity is not where it needs to be. While this is true, this article provies insight that diversity used to be a lot worse and has actually significantly improved.  

Research Blog #6

https://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2012/06/10-startling-stats-about-minorities-stem/

This image provides many statistics that show that both minorities and women are not prevalent in STEM fields. The most drastic of these include that 73% of engineers are white, African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics account for over a third of the American population, yet they only account for 12% of undergraduate degrees in engineering, and only 1 in 10 STEM workers are minority women. These numbers are staggering and proves that diversity is a huge problem in this country that needs to be resolved.

Liturature Review Blog Post #3

The article used for this literature review is called, "Using Role Models to Increase Diversity in STEM"

1) Picture-


2) Citation-

Hutton, Carrie. “Using Role Models to Increase Diversity in STEM.” Technology and Engineering Teacher, vol. 79, no. 3, Nov. 2019, pp. 16–19. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1232265&site=ehost-live

3) Brief Summary-

In this article, Hutton discusses the importance of role models. These role models can be from classrooms, from homes, or from communities. Minorities oftentimes are discrouaged to go into STEM fields because they do not have anyone to look up to . It is imperative for minority students to be able to see success stories. This will inspire these students to study STEM as well. This is especially important in K-12 students so they know what they have to do in order to be ready for college. 

4) About the Author-

Carrie Hutton is Mathematics and General Education program directors at Calumet College of St. Joseph. She started her career as a professor of various math classes, and also taught dual-credit engineering classes at local high schools. She has seen first hand the dynamics of STEM classrooms and lack of diversity that comes with it. This led her to become the commissioner for the Human Relations Commission, in Hammond, Indiana. 

5) Key Terms-

The "ITTEA" is the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association. They reach out to educators and let them know what they should be teaching their students in order to prepare them for the future in technology. 

"Community members" in terms of mentorships include people from local industries, museums, universities, and businesses.

6) Quotes-

"All K-12 students’ educational experiences are shaped by teacher quality (Palmer et al., 2010). Teachers are important role models in the STEM circuit" (Hutton 18). 

" Providing students with role models at home, in the classroom, and in the community is too often an overlooked but significant factor in how students see themselves as adults and how they connect what they do in K-12 classrooms with future careers" (Hutton 19).

7) Value-

Even though there is no hard evidence in this article, such as statistics, Hutton still gets her point across. There is a direct correlation between mentorships and inspiration. Furthermore, the more inspiration, the more minorities in STEM. However, this needs to be done on a larger scale in order for there to be success.