Race and Gender Dynamics in STEM-Focused Industries

Although there are more girls and Women of Color (WoC) entering STEM fields, they have a higher dropout rate than their male counterparts at the college level (Schuyler et al. 2021). Their dropouts are caused by several factors and ultimately lead to WoC being underrepresented in careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (Holland and Eisenhart 1990, 223; Crenshaw 1994, 1; Lorde 1984, 115; Lorber 1993, 574). The number of WoC represented in STEM-focused industries is relatively low when correlated to the number of college-educated and working WoC in the United States (Schuyler et al. 2021). According to 2020 Census data, those who identify as female are the majority sex in the country. The government has noted on their Census page that the United States has grown more racially and ethnically diverse since the 2010 Census. Colleges and universities are graduating more WoC than they ever have in this country’s history. However, with all these demographic changes for WoC, they are still underrepresented in STEM-focused industries. According to the National Science Foundation, women comprise about 18% of the country’s STEM workforce, with less than 25% of those women considered Black, Indigenous, Person of Color (BIPOC) (National Center 2023). So far, it has been established that there are more women than men, there is an increase of educated women, and a growing population of WoC with various ethnic identities. Therefore, there is no lack of physical presence, intellectual opportunities, or diversity in the female population. Using a critical race theory (CRT) perspective throughout my presentation, I will examine the socially constructed barriers (i.e., racism, sexism, classism) that keep WoC underrepresented in STEM and how to circumnavigate them. The companies of the United States are failing to use all its available resources when WoC represent low numbers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. As a nation, we are technologically lagging behind countries that we could easily surpass if socially constructed barriers were removed. Racism, sexism, and classism are limiting the number of girls and women entering and remaining in STEM careers. Even as the dynamic and complicated nature of these social constructs evolve, the tenets of CRT can change and adjust along with them to become tools to address them. Antiquated systemic injustices continue to function. The tools of Critical Race Theory could be used to dismantle those systems.