Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Opening Doors: Proceedings of a Symposium—in Brief

Excerpt

Careers in science, engineering, and medicine offer opportunities to advance knowledge, contribute to the well-being of communities, and support the security, prosperity, and health of the United States. Many women do not pursue or persist in these careers, or advance to leadership positions — not because they lack the talent or aspirations, but because they face barriers, including implicit and explicit bias; sexual harassment; unequal access to funding and resources; pay inequity; and higher teaching and advising load, among others. A 2020 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies), Promising Practices for Addressing the Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Opening Doors, reviews the current state of knowledge of factors that drive underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) and provides an overview of existing research on policies, practices, programs, and interventions for improving the representation of women in these fields. On March 19, 2020, the National Academies held a virtual symposium to share key messages and findings from the report as well as hear from experts on the range of issues addressed in the study. This publication highlights the presentation and discussion of that event.