Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: STEM

Explores the life stories of women of colour who have persevered in STEM workplace settings. The authors use various critical theories to situate and make visible the lives of women of colour in such disciplines and workplace contexts as mathematics, science, engineering, NASA, academia, government agencies, and others.

Ask practically any academic department chair why they do not have more African Americans among faculty members and they generally respond with stock stories or folktales, which stimulated the title of this volume. Stock stories are akin to grand narratives that explain 'why things are' in ways that satisfy those in dominant positions. Frierson and Tate argue it is time to move beyond these. The purpose of the book is to provide historical, conceptual, and empirically-based analyses focused on the development of African Americans in STEM fields. There is rarely any real understanding of the uneven contours of the education pipeline or the transition to academic life experienced in these situations and this volume will shed light on opportunities to advance African American attainment in STEM disciplines throughout the academic and professional spectra, and the mitigation of disparities that continue to be so prevalent. The editors hope that it will generate discussions and actions that are based on empirical evidence and policy analyses, rather than long standing stock stories and folktales that misrepresent the paths linked to African Americans' attainment in STEM fields.

An accessible and timely guide to increasing female presence and leadership in tech companies Tech giants like Apple and Google are among the fastest growing companies in the world, leading innovations in design and development. The industry continues to see rapid growth, employing millions of people: in the US it is at the epicenter of the American economy. So why is it that only 5% of senior executives in the tech industry are female? Underrepresentation of women on boards of directors, in the C-suite, and as senior managers remains pervasive in this industry. As tech companies are plagued with high-profile claims of harassment and discrimination, and salary discrepancies for comparable work, one asks what prevents women from reaching management roles, and, more importantly, what can be done to fix it? The Future of Tech is Female considers the paradoxes involved in women's ascent to leadership roles, suggesting industry-wide solutions to combat gender inequality. Drawing upon 15 years of experience in the field, Douglas M. Branson traces the history of women in the information technology industry in order to identify solutions for the issues facing women today. Branson explores a variety of solutions such as mandatory quota laws for female employment, pledge programs, and limitations on the H1-B VISA program, and grapples with the challenges facing women in IT from a range of perspectives. Branson unpacks the plethora of reasons women should hold leadership roles, both in and out of this industry, concluding with a call to reform attitudes toward women in one particular IT branch, the video and computer gaming field, a gateway to many STEM futures. An invaluable resource for anyone invested in gender equality in corporate governance, The Future of Tech is Female lays out the first steps toward a more diverse future for women in tech leadership

This book will examine the problem of under-represented populations (URPs) in the so-called "STEM" fields: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, this problem is especially acute in computer science. Who are these under-represented populations? What creates them? And finally, why should there be concern about URPs in STEM? This book brings to light the crisis of a dearth of women, especially minority women, in STEM. The text highlights what has combined to create the perfect storm of impending economic stagnation, impoverished populations, diminished innovation, and lack of interest in choosing these fields. The author discusses what must be done to correct this social injustice and stave off losing America's status one of the leaders in technological innovation and economic opportunity.

Movement into academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields has been slow for women and minorities. Not only are women and minorities underrepresented in STEM careers, there is strong evidence that many academic departments are resistant to addressing the concerns that keep them from entering careers in these fields. In light of recent controversies surrounding these issues, this volume, examining reasons for the persistence of barriers that block the full participation and advancement of underrepresented groups in the sciences and addressing how academic departments and universities can remedy the situation, is particularly timely. As a whole, the volume shows positive examples of institutions and departments that have been transformed by the inclusion of women and recommends a set of best practices for continuing growth in positive directions.

This unique book provides important guidelines and examples of ways STEM (e. g., science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) faculty and administration can collaborate towards goals of recruiting, mentoring, and promoting leadership to academic women faculty. Based on the experiences of faculty across five Florida universities, including one national laboratory, each chapter highlights one aspect of a multi-institutional collaboration on an NSF ADVANCE-PAID grant dedicated to achieving these three goals.

"Some students come to college knowing the ropes, knowing what it takes to be successful as STEM students. But many do not. Research shows that students who are the first-generation in their family to attend or complete college are likely to arrive at your classroom not knowing what it takes to be successful. And data shows that more first-generation students are likely to be arriving on your doorstep in the near future. What can you do to help these students be successful? This book can provide you with some quick, easy, and effortless steps that you can take to help first-generation college students succeed without having to change the way you teach. Why put in this effort in the first place? The payoff is truly worth it. First-generation college students are frequently low-income students and from ethnic groups underrepresented in STEM. With a little effort, you can enhance the retention of underrepresented groups in your discipline, at your institution and play a role in national efforts to enhance diversity in STEM"--

By the end of this decade, the U.S. economy will annually create hundreds of thousands of new jobs requiring a bachelor's degree in STEM fields, particularly computer science. This increasing need for computer scientists, coupled with an inconsistent agenda for managing dramatic shifts in the demographic landscape of higher education, compromises our competitiveness in scientific discovery and innovation. As higher education seeks to address this issue, the need for more culturally responsive approaches to undergraduate STEM teaching also increases. This book uses the power of reflection, storytelling, and data to holistically demonstrate the effectiveness of a novel professional development intervention for STEM faculty - Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in STEM, or TIDES - that significantly increased faculty self-efficacy in implementing culturally responsive pedagogies. In it, the editors combine the authentic voices of authors from multiple institutional contexts and individual worldviews to assimilate and synthesize broad theoretical concepts into practice in usable ways, while also offering concrete applicable examples of strategies and solutions that serve as an important comprehensive reference for all undergraduate educators and administrators. This practical guide provides a durable platform for building capacity in understanding of the cultural complexities and institutional realities of recruiting and retaining diverse students in STEM, particularly the computer sciences.

Mathematics for Social Justice offers a collection of resources for mathematics faculty interested in incorporating questions of social justice into their classrooms. The book begins with a series of essays from instructors experienced in integrating social justice themes into their pedagogy; these essays contain political and pedagogical motivations as well as nuts-and-bolts teaching advice. The heart of the book is a collection of fourteen classroom-tested modules featuring ready-to-use activities and investigations for the college mathematics classroom. The mathematical tools and techniques used are relevant to a wide variety of courses including college algebra, math for the liberal arts, calculus, differential equations, discrete mathematics, geometry, financial mathematics, and combinatorics. The social justice themes include human trafficking, income inequality, policing, environmental racism and justice, gerrymandering, voting methods, and access to education. The volume editors are leaders of the national movement to include social justice material into mathematics teaching. Gizem Karaali is Associate Professor of Mathematics at Pomona College. She is one of the founding editors of The Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, and an associate editor for The Mathematical Intelligencer and Numeracy; she also serves on the editorial board of the MAA's Carus Mathematical Monographs. Lily Khadjavi is Associate Professor of Mathematics at Loyola Marymount University and is a past co-chair of the Infinite Possibilities Conference. She has served on the boards of Building Diversity in Science, the Barbara Jordan-Bayard Rustin Coalition, and the Harvard Gender and Sexuality Caucus.