New federal actions aim to tackle diversity in STEM fields – Axios

Congress is mulling a number of proposals aimed at investing in technology and traditional scientific research and development that could make huge strides on racial diversity in science.

Why it matters: The proposals come as science institutions face pressure to hire and cultivate more teachers of color, diversify research fields and ensure that there is greater diversity in the STEM workforce overall.

Congress is mulling a number of proposals aimed at investing in technology and traditional scientific research and development that could make huge strides on racial diversity in science.

Why it matters: The proposals come as science institutions face pressure to hire and cultivate more teachers of color, diversify research fields and ensure that there is greater diversity in the STEM workforce overall.

Details: The U.S. Senate last month passed the mammoth U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, also known as the Endless Frontiers Act. The bill focuses on making major investments, on the order of about $250 billion, in the federal funding of scientific research and development.

What they're saying: The whole meritocracy system that we believe science is based on is not actually applied the same way to Black, Hispanic, Native American people and people with disabilities, Yaihara Fortis Santiago, associate director for postdoctoral affairs and trainee diversity initiatives at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told Nature after the death of George Floyd.

The bottom line: More money won't solve the entire problem. But pending science research and development legislation, combined with additional funding contained in infrastructure spending proposals, would be a bold step toward diversifying STEM fields.

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New federal actions aim to tackle diversity in STEM fields - Axios