Literature Review Blog Post #1

The book used for this literary review is called, Diversifying STEM: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Race and Gender, by Ebony O. McGee and William H. Robinson.

1) Picture-
2) Citation-

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

3) Brief Summary-

This book provides in depth statistics and reasons as to why STEM jobs are mainly Asian and white males. The authors begin by saying that the lack of diversity is actually hindering the American Economy. They refer to minorities as an untapped resource that needs to be used. McGee and Robinson utilize sociology and psychology as tools to accomplish this. They find out that the problem is mainly in universities not doing enough to promote diversity.

4) About the Authors-

Ebony McGee got her bachelors degree in electrical engineering, and her masters degree in industrial engineering. She knows first hand what it is like to be an African American woman in the STEM field, and all the marginalizing that comes with it. After years on researching about the topic, McGee received the NSF CAREER award for studies that evaluate how racial bias affect students who intend on studying STEM.

William Robinson initially never even considered being a professor in a STEM field. However, with the help of vital African American role models he was successfully able to obtain his PhD in electrical engineering and obtain a faculty job. In 2010 he was the first African American faculty member promoted to associate professor with tenure. Later in 2018, he became the first ever full time African American professor in Vanderbilt's School of Engineering. Lastly, he is a member of the Steering Committee of the Academic and Research Leadership Network. This organization mentors minority engineers.

5) Key Terms-

"Racial bias" is when, also called implicit bias, is when even though a person actively tries to not associate others with racial stereotypes, it still subconsciously slips into their minds. This can lead to minorities being treated unfairly within STEM, whether it be at universities or the workplace.

"Social capital" includes the social connections or networks used for personal or professional gain. Minorities struggle in the STEM workforce because it is harder for them to obtain this.

6) Quotes-

"The U.S STEM workforce... jeopardizes national scientific and technical achievement and positions minoritized people of color as an untapped resource...," (McGee and Robinson 1).

"… there is a slow progress toward acceptance of scholars of color in the academy; however, there is more ground to be gained before parity in STEM career access, socialization, and thriving can be achieved (McGee and Robinson 36).

"… institutional norms and practices have, overtime, served to make many STEM environments unwelcoming and oppressive to many women" (McGee and Robinson 100).

7) Value-

This book helps answer a number of aspects in my research question. Not only does it address why STEM is not diverse, but it also details possible solutions to the problem. For example, the book provides a problem (84% of STEM workers are either white or Asian males) and provides a way to remedy this through positive role model and mentorship programs. This is just one example of many that the book provides that relates to my research question.

Research Blog #3

Research Question- 

Why do STEM fields suffer from a lack of diversity? Is it simply a lack of interest, or does a lack of opportunity cause this? Furthermore, are people still have gender and racial biases that put minorities at a disadvantage? What is and can be done to change this?


Three Scholarly Sources-

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/.

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.

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

Research Blog #2

My topic idea has not really changed since my first blog post. I still want to talk about why STEM classes are not as diverse as other classes. STEM classes are mainly filled with white and Asian males. There is a lack of women and minorities.

According to a general google search, diversity for STEM has stagnated since 2001. The reason why there has not been any change in STEM diversity for almost 20 years is for two main reasons. First of all, there is just an overall lack of interest for STEM classes amongst women and minorities. Furthermore, minorities are oftentimes at a disadvantage because their high schools do not have advanced placement STEM classes. This information can be found on this website.

An important scholarly source that addresses this topic is Diversifying STEM: Multidisciplinary Perepctives on Race and Gender. In this book, Ebony O. McGee and William H. Robinson provide many statistics on why STEM classes are not diverse.

Although this book has many of the same ideas as the website mentioned previously, it also incorporates two other major points. First, an overall sense of racism and sexism is offputting to women and minorities so they are less likely to be STEM majors. On top of that, the increasing cost of tuition makes it difficult for minorities to afford college at all. Talent is being wasted because even when a minority actually has the potential and will to overcome the odds, the student cannot fulfill his/her dream because of a monetary issue.

There is really no controversy to this topic. The statistics prove that minorities and women only make up a tiny portion of the STEM population.

Research Blog #1

For my final paper I wanted to focus on diversity at colleges. This can go a number of ways. For example, I can talk about what colleges are doing to try to promote diversity at their campuses; or I can talk about the reason why there are not many minorities going to colleges when compared to other students. However, I want to write about diversity amongst different majors. In my personal experience as a math major, I have noticed the dynamic of people in my upper level math classes are much different than that of my SAS elective classes. My paper will talk about why this is.