The COVID-19 pandemic has called attention to the impediments that women in STEM face as mothers, including a multipronged “maternal wall” with career-long ramifications. This week’s Roundup takes you to a virtual conference, “Motherhood and career retention in STEM: Systemic barriers and actionable solutions” held on May 5, 2021. The event was sponsored by Mothers . . .
Science Technology Engineering and Math
A statistical abstract report from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics at the National Science Foundation highlights that women holding academic jobs in science, engineering and health fields increased from 26% in 1999 to 39% in 2019, and underrepresented minorities now hold 9%. While we should celebrate these improvements, the reality is that these . . .
1. In honor of our country’s newest national holiday, Juneteenth, ADVANCE at Michigan Tech will be sharing a new resource each hour (approximately) on Black culture and systemic racism in academia. The complete list will be posted on our blog ADVANCE Newsblog – MTU Blog site for the ADVANCE initiative 2. The BARC (Building an . . .
Documenting the impact of the COVID shutdowns during 2020-21 on the productivity and well-being of students and faculty in higher education is critical to responsive efforts toward recovery. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has released a report, Impact of COVID-19 on the Careers of Women in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, documenting the . . .
An engineer friend once told my wife that my daughter, who was considering majors in college, was not the right type to be an engineer. Too often, we develop preconceived ideas of what a scientist, engineer, or artist is expected to look like. We use such stereotypes to simplify the complex world around us. This . . .
Invisibility. Both gender and sexual minorities in STEM experience invisibility on a regular basis at their universities, in their laboratories, and even in the classroom. To alleviate these inequities and foster an environment of inclusion within the STEM community, it is important to listen to the “invisible” voices. In today’s edition of the ADVANCE Weekly . . .
As we transition back to campus and embark on a new normalcy before fall, it is critically important that we remember that while all in academia were impacted by the pandemic, not everyone shouldered the burden equally. The literature suggests that extra household burdens likely impacted the productivity of women, especially women of color the . . .
Across the nation, we are seeing protests against police brutality that are being held in the name of equity and equal treatment under the law. These demonstrations are the visible part of the iceberg; the key point is that all of us are responsible for pervasive racism and changing the systems that perpetuate it. For . . .
In many situations, whether during the hiring process, choosing invited speakers or making nominations for prizes/awards, our unconscious biases can have a great impact. These unconscious or unintentional decisions are known as implicit biases. We all have them and what is important is how we work to consciously mitigate effects of the biases. This week’s . . .
Intersectionality explores the interconnected nature of social identities such as race, class, and gender both in how they apply to an individual or group and in how they create interdependent systems of disadvantage. These overlapping social identities can accumulate disadvantage under normal circumstances but when compounded with the unique circumstances thrust upon us by COVID-19, . . .