University Biases Keep Women, Minorities Out of Science Careers

Poor schools, stereotypes, workplace & classroom barriers hold people back

26 March 2010

Mae Jamison, former astronaut [left], promotes science literacy across the United States to produce more scientists and educate young people with a basic level of science and technology understanding.

Mae Jemison has accomplished many things in life. She is a chemical engineer, medical doctor, college professor, and in 1992, became the first African-American woman astronaut to blast into space.

New mission

Jemison now runs her own medical technology company, BioSentient Corporation. She's also a spokesperson for Bayer Corporation's science outreach program.

Each year since 1995, the company has commissioned a survey on science literacy and workplace issues. This year, it polled 1,200 women and minority chemists and chemical engineers. Careers in science, technology, engineering and math are collectively known as STEM.

"I think that survey shows that, as minorities and women pursue a STEM career, they have to face a number of barriers along the pipeline and what we need to do as a society is really understand what these roadblocks are," says Jemison.

While women and minorities make up two-thirds of the American workforce, they represent less than 25 percent of STEM careers. The survey cites poor schools, lack of quality science and math programs, persistent negative stereotypes, financial cost and school and workplace bias as the reasons why.