Minorities In STEM Research

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Innovations in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) drive the United States' (U.S.) economy (United States Department of Commerce, Economics & Statistics Administration, 2017; Winters, 2014). Recently, STEM has provided the U.S economy with over 8.6 million jobs and has become the fastest growing sector in the nation (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2017). Caucasian and Asian Americans hold the majority of professional positions in STEM (U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics & Statistics Administration, 2011), whereas underrepresented minorities (URMs; e.g., African American, Hispanic or Latino, Native American, and Alaska Natives) maintain roughly 13% of science and engineering careers, despite comprising 32% of the U.S population (National Science Foundation [NSF], National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2015). By 2060, minorities will account for 56% of the U.S population (NSF, 2015). As the U.S becomes more diverse, the inclusion of ethnic minorities in STEM professions will be crucial to ensure our nation's economic well-being (Maton et …show more content…
Among URM STEM majors, less than half obtain their bachelor's degree (Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology [PCAST], 2012), leaving URMs with 17% of STEM degrees (Rincon & George-Jackson, 2014). Correspondingly, first-year URMs, specifically African American and Latinx undergraduates, planned to enter STEM careers at higher rates (1.4 times) than their Caucasian counterparts. However, these URMs did not demonstrate higher completion rates within their STEM programs (Moakler & Kim, 2014). Being that over 70% of STEM careers require a bachelor's degree (BLS, 2017), the lack of URM persistence in STEM education has become a national concern (Hernandez, Schultz, Estrada, Woodcock, & Chance,

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