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.