The scientific, engineering, and medical communities have been working towards improved representation of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) for decades. While progress has been made, women (particularly women of color) remain underrepresented in many scientific, engineering, and medical fields, and at many levels in education and career stages. This study will seek to understand institutional barriers to implementing practices for improving the representation of women in STEMM, so that those barriers can be removed or overcome. Importantly, the study will not put the onus on women, but instead will focus on helping institutions understand how to remove the barriers that exist because of outmoded institutional structures. Considerable energy will be invested in examining the evidence behind the most successful policies, practices, and strategies that have demonstrated effectiveness in opening doors to women’s participation and success in STEMM fields.
An ad hoc committee will undertake the following activities:
• A comparative examination of research on why women are more underrepresented in some STEMM disciplines than others, with a particular focus on computer science, engineering, physics, mathematics, medicine, chemistry, and biology;
• A review, analysis, and synthesis of existing research on the policies, practices, programs, and other interventions for improving the recruitment, retention, and sustained advancement into leadership roles of women in these disciplines and at different stages in career trajectories;
• An exploration of why effective interventions have not been scaled up or adopted by more institutions; and
• The development of recommendations for implementing promising policies and practices to improve both the representation and leadership of women within specific STEMM disciplines.
The study will also place a strong emphasis on the intersection of race and gender by considering the accumulated research on specific barriers faced by women of color in STEMM in addition to the research on policies and practices that have had an impact on their representation.
The committee will produce a consensus report with findings and recommendations. It may also convene a workshop to gather information and another to disseminate the report’s findings, each of which may result in a rapporteur-authored workshop proceedings in brief.