Understanding Diversity in STEM: How can we build a more diverse and dynamic STEM workforce?

While strides have been made for women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in seeking careers in science and engineering, as a 2021 report from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics shows, the pandemic has exacerbated problems that disadvantage these groups. In this closing event for "Understanding Diversity in STEM: WMPD Day," held on May 12, 2021, a panel of social and behavioral scientists discussed how we can build a more diverse and dynamic STEM workforce by addressing issues like:

What does privilege look like within STEM? How can understanding this in turn support those who don’t share the same privileges?
How has learning become “racialized” and how does this hurt students and scholars of color?
How can institutions build “cultures of growth” to motivate and engage underrepresented students and faculty?
And what does all of this mean in a post-pandemic world?

Panelists included Dr. Erin Cech, Assistant Professor and Associate Graduate Director of Sociology at the University of Michigan; Dr. Mary Murphy, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University and a former CASBS fellow; and Dr. Na'ilah Suad Nasir, President of the education research-focused Spencer Foundation. The moderator was social psychologist Claude Steele, an emeritus professor at Stanford University, former CASBS fellow, and a previous CASBS director.

This event was presented by the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and SAGE Publishing.