The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), which includes members from over 200 tribal nations, seeks to increase the participation of American Indians and Native Alaskans in STEM fields through targeted programs for K-12 students, college students, and professionals. The web site includes a job board, information on scholarships and internships, and the current digital edition of the organization's magazine, Winds of Change.
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) strives to break down barriers and shatter stereotypes that have prevented women from pursuing careers in STEM fields. Through research reports and policy recommendations, national and local STEM programs for girls, and fellowships for women seeking degrees in STEM fields, AAUW hopes to bring more female representation to the world of STEM.
Housed at the University of Maryland, College Park's School of Engineering, the Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering, "provides academic support services and outreach programs designed to recruit, retain, and graduate African American, Hispanic American, and Native American engineering students." In addition to working with current college students, the Center also offers a variety of programs for local elementary and secondary students, including summer camps, on-campus lab visits, and science fairs.
GirlsRISEnet is a network of science centers and museums working to strengthen the "professional capacity of informal science educators to engage and motivate minority girls in grades 6-12 to explore and pursue science and engineering careers." Using a train-the-trainer model, the organization offers regional workshops for informal educators and continued support through mini-grants and other resources found on its web site.
Great Minds in STEM is a national non-profit that seeks to recruit and retain Latinos in STEM fields. They coordinate targeted K-12 STEM education programs, scholarships for college students, and professional support. Both students and educators can find inspiration in the "Educator of the Week," "Scholar of the Week," and "STEM Professional of the Week" highlighted on the web site.
The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT)is a national non-profit that brings together representatives from universities, industry, NGOs, and government agencies to work to increase the participation of women in the information technology field. The following sub-groups of the organization lead various initiatives: Academic Alliance, Affinity Group Alliance, Entrepreneurial Alliance, K-12 Alliance, Workforce Alliance, and Social Science Advisory Board. The organization's web site features a variety of resources in both Spanish and English, including a toolkit for high school counselors, college course materials, conversation starters, and inspirational videos.
Working through regional collaboratives, the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP)unites organizations throughout the U.S. to increase dramatically the participation of girls in STEM fields. Specifically, NGCP seeks to "maximize access to shared resources," "strengthen capacity of existing and evolving projects," by sharing best practices and current research, and "use the leverage of a network...to create the tipping point for gender equity in STEM." The regional collaboratives implement a variety of approaches to achieve these goals, including webinars, professional development events, mini-grants, and publications.
A plethora of studies have been conducted and initiatives implemented to increase diversity in the engineering field over the last few decades, but change remains slow to emerge. This report summarizes a workshop convened by the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Society for Engineering Education to confront this reality. The goals of the workshop included identifying the key impediments to increasing diversity and sharing success stories of programs that overcame these barriers and could be replicated elsewhere. Participants included educators from 2 and 4 year colleges and representatives from the sponsoring organizations. The document includes an overview of the results of a pre-workshop survey that guided the topic selections for small group discussions at the event, which are also summarized. Highlights from formal talks given by leaders in the field are also included.
This report moves beyond the limitations of a 2005 National Research Council report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, to not only address the need to grow the United States' STEM workforce, but also to specifically increase minority participation in STEM fields. It outlines areas of key importance for creating a successful STEM pipeline for minority students, provides specific recommendations and action steps for increasing minority involvement, and highlights avenues and approaches for future research.
This is the accompanying web site to the PBS show SciGirls. Targeted at 8-12 year-olds, each episode of the program features a group of girls who undertake a scientific challenge. The web site includes video clips and full episodes, a directory of projects undertaken by girls throughout the country, and a social media section where girls can create their own profile pages and connect with others. There are also links to STEM resources for parents and educators.
Techbridge started in 2000 as a program at the Chabot Science & Space Center in Oakland, CA, but has since become an independent non-profit organization. Through hands-on afterschool and summer programs, professional development opportunities for formal and informal educators, and a partnership with Girl Scout Councils across the country, Techbridge strives to increase interest and excitement around STEM among girls and underrepresented minorities. The web site includes links to activity ideas for families, training materials for educators, and manuals for use with Girl Scouts.
This biennial report, prepared by the National Science Foundation (NSF), collates data from surveys conducted by NSF and other governmental and non-governmental agencies. The data provide an overview of the status of the participation of women, minorities, and people with disabilities in STEM fields by looking at undergraduate and graduate enrollment, degrees awarded, and employment. Data is available in both PDF format and Excel spreadsheets.
