Black Women In STEM
Reimagining the Role of Information Science as a Pathway to STEM Equity in the United States
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29173/cais1925Keywords:
Black women, STEM, Gender, Race, Information behavior, United StatesAbstract
The persistent underrepresentation of Black women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields is largely attributed to their race and gender. With measures and interventions being continually undertaken to attain race and gender parity in STEM workforce, there is a lack of information science-based approaches in literature and practice. This might account for the less progress and increase recorded in the participation of Black women in the profession. This gap in STEM fields is an issue of national importance that seeks urgent solution. This paper aims to highlight the experiences of Black women in STEM, and implications for policy and practice.
Les femmes noires en STIM: repenser le rôle des sciences de l'information comme voie d'accès à l'équité en STIM aux États-Unis
Résumé
La sous-représentation persistante des femmes noires en sciences, technologie, ingénierie et mathématiques (STIM) est largement attribuée à leur race et à leur genre. Alors que des mesures et des interventions sont continuellement entreprises pour atteindre la parité entre les races et les genres au sein de la main-d'œuvre en STIM, les approches fondées sur les sciences de l'information sont insuffisantes dans la littérature et dans la pratique. Cela pourrait expliquer le peu de progrès et d'augmentation dans la participation des femmes noires à la profession. Ce fossé dans le domaine des STIM est une question d'importance nationale qui nécessite une solution urgente. Cet article vise à mettre en lumière les expériences des femmes noires en STIM et les implications pour la politique et la pratique.
Mots-clés
Genre; race; STIM; comportement informationnel
References
Allen, D., Dancy, M., Stearns, E., Mickelson, R., & Bottia, M. (2022). Racism, sexism and disconnection: Contrasting experiences of Black women in STEM before and after transfer from community college. International Journal of STEM Education, 9(1), 20.
Broussard, M. (2023). More than a glitch: Confronting race, gender, and ability bias in tech. MIT Press.
Casad, B. J., Franks, J. E., Garasky, C. E., Kittleman, M. M., Roesler, A. C., Hall, D. Y., & Petzel, Z. W. (2021). Gender inequality in academia: Problems and solutions for women faculty in STEM. Journal of neuroscience research, 99(1), 13-23.
Charleston, L. J., Adserias, R. P., Lang, N. M., & Jackson, J. F. (2014). Intersectionality and STEM: The role of race and gender in the academic pursuits of African American women in STEM. Journal of Progressive Policy & Practice, 2(3), 273-293.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Women of color at the center: Selections from the third national conference on women of color and the law: Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1279.
Dickens, D. D., Ellis, V., & Hall, N. M. (2021). Changing the Face of STEM: Review of Literature on The Role of Mentors in the Success of Undergraduate Black Women in STEM Education. Journal of Research Initiatives, 5(3).
Eaton, A. A., Saunders, J. F., Jacobson, R. K., & West, K. (2020). How gender and race stereotypes impact the advancement of scholars in STEM: Professors’ biased evaluations of physics and biology post-doctoral candidates. Sex roles, 82, 127-141.
Esposito, J. (2011). Negotiating the gaze and learning the hidden curriculum: A critical race analysis of the embodiment of female students of color at a predominantly White institution. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 9(2), 143–164.
Ferguson, D., & Martin-Dunlop, C. (2021). Uncovering stories of resilience among successful African American women in STEM. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 16(2), 461-484.
Lee, L., Ocepek, M. G., & Makri, S. (2022). Information behavior patterns: A new theoretical perspective from an empirical study of naturalistic information acquisition. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 73(4), 594-608.
McGee, E. O., & Bentley, L. (2017). The Troubled Success of Black Women in STEM. Cognition and Instruction, 35(4), 265–289 https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2017.1355211
Morton, T. R., & Parsons, E. C. (2018). # BlackGirlMagic: The identity conceptualization of Black women in undergraduate STEM education. Science Education, 102(6), 1363-1393.
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. (2019). Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering (Table 5–7). Alexandria, VA. Retrieved from: https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf19304/digest/enrollment
NCSES. (2023). Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities. Retrieved from NSF: https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23315/report/introduction
Nguyen, T. H., Gasman, M., Washington Lockett, A., & Peña, V. (2021). Supporting Black women's pursuits in STEM. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 58(6), 879-905.
Ong, M., Wright, C., Espinosa, L., & Orfield, G. (2011). Inside the double bind: A synthesis of empirical research on undergraduate and graduate women of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Harvard Educational Review, 81(2), 172–209.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Joanna Adewunmi, Melissa Ocepek

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.


