STEM HOME

Charge to the Workshop

Executive Summary

Part I: The STEM Workforce: Establishing the Need for Change

Under-Representation as a Social Justice Issue

Current Lack of Diversity and Opportunity

Part II: The STEM Pathways Workshop: Describing the Change

Broad Issues Related to the STEM Workforce

From Successful Programs to Large-Scale Change

The Contributions of
Research


An Action Plan

Part III: Conclusion: Toward a New Vision for the Enterprise of Science

References

Appendix: Workshop Attendees

 

Under-Representation as a Social Justice Issue
 

The under-representation of minorities, persons with disabilities and females in the STEM workforce is a serious social justice issue in a society that professes to be egalitarian and democratic (Wardle, Martin and Clarke, 2004). Considerations of social justice, national security, and economic wellbeing call for all individuals to have opportunities to pursue STEM careers. If we are to address it at the roots, it is imperative that the nation begins seriously to focus on this under-representation as a human capability realization problem, rather than as a STEM capacity building problem. The loss of opportunity and economic cost to individuals far outweighs the cost of lost STEM workers to society.