New Year 2022: Time to Reflect and Make Resolutions Related to Women of Color in STEM

By Christine Leavitt

It is hard to believe that another year has flown by. As we commence a new calendar year, it is important to reflect on the progress that has been made during this last year to boost the representation and participation in STEM of those who are under-anticipated to enter STEM occupations. Women of color are currently the most under-anticipated and underrepresented population in STEM careers in the U.S. Did a greater percentage of women of color enter STEM careers during 2021? Were women of color who work in STEM fields promoted to leadership and mentorship roles at a greater rate than they were previously?

According to the United States Census, women make up nearly half of the workforce but account for less than 30% of workers in STEM fields. While this percentage of female involvement in STEM has grown annually for most STEM fields, especially healthcare, it has decreased or remained relatively unchanged in computing and engineering. In fact, statistics have revealed that women only represent approximately 15% of workers in engineering. Additionally, women who work in STEM fields continue to earn less, have fewer role models, and experience discrimination and harassment at much higher rates than their male counterparts (see https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/the-stem-gap/).

The percentages of involvement in STEM occupations are even more dismal for women of color. Sam Daley cited statistics showing that “[just 3% of computing-related jobs are held by African-American women, 6% held by Asian women, and 2% held by Hispanic women” (see https://builtin.com/women-tech/women-in-tech-workplace-statistics). Daley further noted that women of color only occupy 18% of entry-level positions in STEM fields, showing continued barriers, discrimination, and disparities that women of color face in STEM jobs. U.S. labor data has also revealed that Latina and Black women who work in STEM earn an average of $33,000 less per year in comparison to the average salary of men who work in STEM (https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/the-stem-gap/).

The underrepresentation of tenured women of color faculty at universities was also highlighted in 2021 by the University of North Carolina’s initial decision to deny tenure to award-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. USA Today reported that “Black people make up 13.4% of the U.S. population but [account] for less than 6% of faculty at public and private nonprofit four-year colleges…[and] Black women make up a little more than 2% of tenured professors.” Women of color have been shown to face increased workplace harassment, micro-aggressions, and discrimination, which factors further decrease their participation and continuation in careers in STEM, including in university tenure-track faculty positions (see https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/01/09/women-and-men-in-stem-often-at-odds-over-workplace-equity/).

While progress was made in 2021 to include more women and women of color in male-dominated STEM occupations, there is still a lot of work to do. What will you do both personally and professionally this year to support those who are under-anticipated in STEM occupations to pursue further education and careers in STEM fields?

More about Christine Leavitt:

Christine is a doctoral student in Gender Studies at ASU. Her research interests include the intersections of gender, religion, and mental health. Christine has worked as an attorney in the field of employment and labor law for over 12 years and as an adjunct instructor for over 7 years. In these positions, Christine has been involved in research seeking to close the low-income gap graduation rate from higher education and has worked to promote women and minorities into positions of leadership. Christine has also been given the opportunity to be a guest lecturer in Ukraine and Moldova as part of the US Build Initiative. As a mother of 6 children, including 3 girls, Christine is very passionate about gender equity in STEM, especially for girls who come from underrepresented communities and face additional barriers in STEM fields. Christine graduated with honors from BYU Law School with her Juris Doctor, and she graduated Valedictorian of her class from Southern Utah University with a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish. She loves learning, traveling, exploring the outdoors with her family, hiking, camping, paddle boarding, and meeting new people. She is an accomplished pianist and a long-distance runner.