Opening doors to greater diversity in STEM

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are engines of innovation, shaping our future with new knowledge and tools. Demand for STEM expertise is accelerating, with STEM occupations projected to grow almost three times faster than other positions in the US from 2024 to 2034. To work best, such disciplines must be fuelled by a diversity of talent and perspectives.

Yet women and minority groups remain woefully under-represented across STEM fields. In the US and UK women account for less than a third of STEM employees. Although progress has been made in bringing more women into STEM, there is much work still to be done to remove systemic barriers and improve retention of women – and other under-represented groups – at every career level. 

With efforts are driving diversity and inclusion under threat and global social and environmental challenges requiring increasingly bold solutions, it is more important than ever for higher education to support wider access to STEM. This collection of resources provides advice on how – from making STEM careers visible and creating accessible entry routes, to establishing tailored support systems for students and staff and championing a culture that includes and celebrates all voices. 

Support for women studying STEM subjects

Gender stereotypes have played a powerful role in STEM gender disparities, with many girls still believing these subjects are not for them. Although the gender imbalance is narrowing at undergraduate level, far fewer women go on to pursue STEM research careers. Robust support through undergraduate studies can reduce talent drain, as these resources explain.

How to help young women see themselves as coders, inventors and engineers: Female students can be overlooked in STEM fields. Janille Smith-Colin from SMU Lyle School of Engineering shares four ways to empower tomorrow’s engineering leaders to find their voice and the determination to use it.

How to help women thrive in STEM study and beyond: Women must be supported at both the student and staff level to pursue rewarding careers in STEM, during their degrees as well as in the workforce, says Natalie K. D. Seedan from the University of the West Indies.

How to support women of all ages in post-secondary science education: Mature female students face barriers to success in STEM subjects, but steps can be taken to address this. Liette Vasseur from Brock University explains what needs to be done.

Boosting female representation in STEM is crucial to global innovation: Addressing the gender disparity in STEM isn’t just a question of striving for a fairer society, it’s also fundamental to solving the complex challenges that affect us all, says Jennifer Tour Chayes from the University of California, Berkeley.

Boosting gender diversity in male-dominated STEM disciplines: How to address gender disparity in STEM, when so many disciplines are overwhelmingly male-dominated? Rick Cooper from Birkbeck, University of London offers advice.

Welcome and celebrate LGBTQ+ students and staff in STEM

LGBTQ+ professionals working in STEM face greater career barriers and higher levels of workplace harassment than their peers, research shows, with 28 per cent having considered leaving their job as a result. And for those whose research requires international travel to a region where negative attitudes towards their sexual identity persist, simply doing their jobs puts them at risk. 

Championing allyship and highlighting LGBTQ+ STEM contributions can reduce prejudice, increase visibility and belonging and inspire more LGBTQ+ students to pursue STEM study without fear of discrimination. 

Practical LGBTQ+ allyship within STEMM: Allyship in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine requires more than symbolic gestures. Academics from the University of Exeter offer guidance on practical action that can help create safer, more equitable workplaces for LGBTQ+ colleagues and students.

Ways to improve the equitable inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in research and higher education: A summary of actions universities and research bodies should take to create truly equitable, inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ staff and students, from members of Pride in STEM and an academic at Nottingham Trent University. 

Beyond Alan Turing: bringing LGBTQ+ role models into STEM: LGBTQ+ identities remain mostly invisible in STEM. Shining a light on them in everyday teaching can strengthen belonging and representation, say academics at the University of Exeter.

Pathways to improved representation in engineering and technology courses

The participation of women, and particularly women of colour, remains disproportionately low in engineering and technology courses and in the UK and US. And with Black computer science graduate numbers falling, universities must rethink how they package their degrees – whether that is by highlighting their social relevance, embedding belonging into course design or creating joint options that widen the scope of study. 

How and why to humanise engineering education: Despite years of effort across the education sector, engineering sciences are still not gender equitable. Incorporating more social sciences into engineering education could help address the imbalance. Rich McIlroy from the University of Southampton explains how.

How do we get more women into coding? Fix how it’s taught and used: It’s time women said to the tech industry: ‘It’s not me, it’s you.’ And universities can help by not confusing the art of computer programming with rather dull “careers in coding”, writes Andy Farnell.

Engineering schools are riddled with issues – reinvention is required: From increasing diversity to embracing flexibility, engineering schools must enter a period of self-reflection if they are to remain viable, says David Poole.

Opening doors to computer science education: Ways to get more students from under-represented backgrounds into computer science, including offering joint undergraduate degrees and master’s degrees that require no tech background, outlined by Beth Mynatt at Northeastern University.

A warm welcome is a strategic imperative for higher education: If we want incoming students to flourish, we must stop treating belonging as a bonus and start seeing it as an essential condition for learning. Virginia Tech’s Scott Dunning offers strategies for welcoming students to succeed.

Breaking down barriers to STEM learning

Equal access to university study is not sufficient if teaching practices place some students at a disadvantage. STEM education must adapt to support diverse needs by creating safe and flexible learning environments. Learn ways to address structural inequalities that prevent students gaining vital work experience during their studies. 

Tips for applying universal design for learning in healthcare practice placements: How to implement UDL in the busy and variable environment of students’ practical placements. Advice from Ailish Malone and Fiona Daly of RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Lessons in chemistry: widening university students’ participation through storytelling: Storytelling can bridge the gap between complex STEM content and student engagement – it gives learners a discovery-based approach and educators an inclusive teaching tool and means of assessment. Karen Ho of Mount Royal University offers advice. 

Make team-based learning work for neurodivergent students: Students with autism, ADHD and dyslexia often struggle in team-based learning contexts. Read advice from academics at the University of Bath and the University of Bradford for tailoring this activity to specific learning needs and reducing overstimulation.

Prevent overstimulation and support autistic students in the laboratory: Lab sessions can prompt overstimulation in autistic students. Here, one University of Salford student outlines the challenges they’ve faced and what support has helped.

Workforce-ready, not left behind: inclusive work-based learning for science students: Many science students miss out on quality placements because of systemic barriers. Academics at the University of Exeter explain how universities can embed equitable, work-based learning into non-accredited programmes and level the field.

How to create a more inclusive STEM research culture 

A university’s research culture shapes the careers and well-being of STEM researchers. Competition, job insecurity and long hours mean certain roles are not conducive to family life, presenting those with caring responsibilities with impossible choices. Efforts to narrow gender and race disparities are often seen as tokenistic and can increase barriers to belonging. These resources offer advice on creating support systems that change work culture attitudes, reduce bias and make fairness a priority in recruitment and promotion processes.

Five ways to start leading research culture change: If you’re concerned that research culture is valuing output over well-being or prioritising prestige over passion, these tips from the director of the N8 Research Partnership and an academic at Newcastle University could help you move towards more supportive and collaborative labs and departments.

Stop excluding carers! Eight ways to create an inclusive research culture: Low-cost, practical fixes can build a “care aware” research culture and reduce the mental health strain of combining care and scholarship, provided by academics at the University of Warwick.

What are the barriers to success for under-represented ECRs in maths, physics, computer science and engineering?:
Recommendations for improving equity, diversity and inclusion in maths, physics, computer science and engineering, from academics at the University of Exeter.

Inclusivity versus devotion to the cult of STEM: Is an underlying global STEM culture of devotion getting in the way of a more inclusive academy, asks the University of Exeter’s Andrew Pye.

Address STEM inequality by re-conceiving merit: The cultural yardsticks used to measure merit in STEM are warped by bias and often devalue women, people of colour and LGBTQ+ scientists with records equal to white, heterosexual, male peers. To fix STEM inequality, academia must re-conceive merit, say academics from the University of California San Diego and the University of Michigan.

What I needed as a Black woman in STEM: Factors that influence the success of Black women in STEM, including community-building, EDI responsibilities and invisible labour – and advice on how to provide support from Carlotta A. Berry at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Addressing the leaky pipeline in academia: strategies to attract and retain women scientists: Attracting more female researchers is one part of the work towards gender equity in science. Here, Anna Ginès i Fabrellas from Esade Law School offers four actions to support women pursuing academic careers.

Pre-admission: creating new pathways to STEM study

Many students are unaware of the many career paths available via STEM, which prevents them making informed choices. Others, such as those returning to education, and balancing caring responsibilities or part-time work, may not follow traditional entry routes. Contextual admissions, taster days, STEM fairs and pre-university mentorship are some of the ways to open the doors to STEM study, as these resources show.   

‘Support is not remedial. It is pedagogy’: STEM foundation years are key to widening participation. Darryl Morgan and Hannah Seale from the University of South Wales explain how to make them supportive and structured, with well-being at the centre.

Four ways to boost diversity in environmental science: The barriers to STEM subjects start long before students apply. Abby Onencan from the University of East Anglia offers practical ways to build a more inclusive environmental science pipeline.

Are STEM admissions processes hindering our diversity efforts?: The requirement for potential STEM students to have studied traditionally related subjects such as maths and physics seems outdated and unnecessary, says Judy Raper from TEDI-London.

Why investment earlier in the pipeline would strengthen diversity in STEM: Persistent inequities in uptake of science, engineering, technology and mathematics begin before college. Drawing on evidence from K-12 talent development programmes, Keisha Simmons from Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities offers practical guidance to strengthen the STEM pipeline.

STEM outreach as a tool for widening participation

Outreach can offer children – regardless of background – a deeper insight into the real world potential of STEM. Done effectively, it creates a sense of wonder and brings complex concepts home, shaping the interests of future scientists, mathematicians and engineers. But there is a difference between informing and inspiring. So, what makes outreach effective, how can you engage a school-aged audience, and what can academics learn from public engagement theory?

What is needed to run a successful outreach programme?: Lessons on running a successful outreach programme based on a 13-year project focused on getting more girls studying STEM, from Bia Hamed at Eastern Michigan University.

How to bring university science into primary schools: Engaging primary school-age children with STEM will help them think critically and develop informed opinions for the rest of their lives. Farah Jaber-Hijazi from the University of the West of Scotland explains how.

How to embed STEM across all disciplines? Start small: Build the STEM skills students will need for the future into your existing courses – with a little-and-often approach. Kenneth Wai-Ting Leung from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology explains how.

Inspire the next generation of bioengineering lab technicians: STEM outreach workshops can encourage school students to pursue careers as laboratory research scientists. Nana Asante Asamoah-Danso from Imperial College London offers advice on creating memorable and engaging experiences.

School visits are a triple win for academics, schools and society: For researchers, taking science into the community is an opportunity to hone communication skills, boost impact and enthuse children to pursue their own university studies. Plus, it’s fun, says Ben Kennedy from the University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha.

So, you want to reach out? Lessons from a ‘science for all’ programme: Public engagement in STEM strengthens research relevance and trust in science but how can universities do it well? A team of academics from Swansea University give three considerations based on a decade of effective outreach to disadvantaged schools.

Thank you to all Campus contributors who shared their expertise in this guide.

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