Who are underrepresented in STEM? (2023)

Who are underrepresented in STEM?

Other underrepresented groups in science and engineering included African Americans, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Hispanics, who collectively formed 26% of the population, but accounted for only 10% of the science and engineering workers.

Women and ethnic minorities remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The goal of this pilot study is to better understand the beliefs and experiences of underrepresented US students pursuing STEM.

Hispanic and Black workers continue to be underrepresented in the STEM workforce, while White and Asian workers are overrepresented. Hispanic workers are highly underrepresented in the STEM workforce – making up only 8% of STEM workers but 17% of total employment across all occupations.

The representation of certain groups of people in science and engineering (S&E) education and employment differs from their representation in the U.S. population. Women, persons with disabilities, and three racial and ethnic groups—blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians or Alaska Natives—are underrepresented in S&E.

Women are Underrepresented in STEM Workforce

By the time students reach college, women are significantly underrepresented in STEM majors — for instance, only around 21% of engineering majors are women and only around 19% of computer and information science majors are women.

Additionally, a lack of representation among faculty members and a lack of cultural awareness by faculty can be intimidating for students or employees. Systemic barriers like implicit and explicit bias bar underrepresented groups from entering the STEM workforce and hinder academic success as well.

Four groups are considered underrepresented in higher education relative to their proportion in the general U.S. population and are defined as such by the National Science Foundation: African American/Black, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and Native American.

Historically Underrepresented

This term refers to groups who have been denied access and/or suffered past institutional discrimination in the United States and, according to the Census and other federal measuring tools, includes African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics or Chicanos/Latinos, and Native Americans.

Traditionally, Historically Underrepresented Minority (HURM) students are members of groups that have “historically comprised a minority of the US population.” This typically includes African Americans, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, and Hispanics. A broader definition includes Asian and Pacific Islanders.

Based on data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), women represented 45% of students majoring in STEM fields in 2020, up from 40% in 2010 and 34% in 1994. IPEDS has tracked fall enrollment by major field of study and gender since 1994.

What is the STEM gap?

The STEM gap is the discrepancy in the representation of women and BIPOC individuals in the field of STEM when compared to men. For years, STEM has been predominantly seen as a man's field.

STEM stands for Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics. But it's more than that. STEM has grown to represent a unique approach to teaching and learning, one that centers around individual students' learning styles and interests. This means STEM education has something to offer every student.

Women in science are also paid less, promoted less, and win fewer grants in addition to the tendency to leave research earlier than similarly qualified men. A number of organizations have been set up to combat stereotyping and to encourage girls and women towards careers in STEM.

Despite some concerted attention and resources devoted to recruitment and retention of women in engineering over the last couple of decades, they are still woefully underrepresented in engineering and many related sciences.

According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a more diverse team is more likely to outperform a more homogenous team—even when the homogenous team is considered to have “relatively greater ability” as individuals than the more diverse group.

Underrepresented in Medicine (URM)

Black/African American. Native American (American Indian, Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian) Mexican American. Mainland Puerto Rican.

Meaning of underrepresented in English

If a type of person or thing is underrepresented in a group or organization, there are not enough of them in it: Hispanics are underrepresented in U.S. political institutions. Scarce, inadequate and not enough. be at a premium idiom.

There are seven key minority and indigenous groupings: Latinos (including Puerto Ricans), African Americans, Asian Americans, Arab and other Middle Eastern Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawai'ians and other Pacific Islanders, and Alaska Natives.

What is another word for underrepresented?

•inadequately represented (adjective)

Demeaned, marginalized, Discounted, Discriminated.

An underrepresented minority is someone who is disproportionately less represented in a specific industry or field—like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)— compared to the general population.

Engineering remains male-dominated because of many factors common in other STEM fields. They include gender bias and stereotypes, male-dominated educational settings and workplaces, and sexual harassment.

In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics includes nursing as a STEM field and STEM-adjacent—but the Department of Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration does not.

Psychology is a core STEM discipline because of its direct scientific and technological innovations, as well as its indirect contributions to education and learning in science and technology.

STEM is hard. Likely the most difficult challenge you've ever considered taking on. Even the most gifted and driven students struggle with it. The students who succeed are the ones apply themselves every day and approach that challenge head on.

STEM stands for Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics. But it's more than that. STEM has grown to represent a unique approach to teaching and learning, one that centers around individual students' learning styles and interests. This means STEM education has something to offer every student.

According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a more diverse team is more likely to outperform a more homogenous team—even when the homogenous team is considered to have “relatively greater ability” as individuals than the more diverse group.

How do you make a STEM more inclusive?