User:Nataliereid/sandbox

to add to STEM

Studies have shown that there is discrimination in STEM fields, ranging from gender imbalances to racial issues. With respect to gender, there are implications regarding the education of young women, the pipeline for women into these fields, and retention. Women face discrimination in the hiring process where male candidates are typically favored. A 2007 study showed that recommendation letters for chemistry faculty described men in terms of ability, such as “standout,” but referred to the work ethic of women, such as “grindstone,” reflecting gender bias. A similar study found that female students that were applying for research grants had skills such as caring ability or balancing parenting and work described in their letters of recommendation. Descriptions such as these were additionally found among applications to psychology research faculty positions, where women were described as helpful and kind and men were described as confident and independent. Even when holding language in recommendation letters and descriptors constant, women still were rated lower,  suggesting that women face more discrimination when entering the field. In 2015, a report found that one out of three women science professors involved in the survey reported sexual harassment.

There have also been studies looking at the race gap in science knowledge. According to a report done by the Pew Research Center, whites, on average, did better than Blacks or Hispanics when asked a series of twelve science-related questions. While there is evidence that suggests that Americans with more formal education fare better with science-related questions, and White individuals are more likely than Blacks and Hispanics to hold college degrees, there is also evidence that there are differences among racial and ethnic groups at the high school level. The National Science Foundation found that the average science score on the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress was lower for Black and Hispanic students than White, Asian, and Pacific Islanders. In 2011, eleven percent of the workforce was Black, while only six percent of STEM workers were Black. Though STEM has typically been dominated by White males, there has been considerable efforts to create initiatives to make STEM a more racially and gender diverse field.