Women RISE (Research in STEM and STEM Education)

The Women RISE (Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics [STEM] and STEM Education) program approached the objective of recruiting more Women of Color in STEM by substantiating a professional development for the women faculty and the women students they mentor. It is evident that the issue of the lack of Black women in STEM lies at the intersection of gender and race, because according to the 2015 report of the Status of Women in Mississippi (the state where the project took place), only approximately 32.9% of those working in STEM fields were women (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2015). The data disaggregated by race are not available. However, nationally, when considering race, Black women comprised around 7% of the STEM workforce ($4M fuels state effort to increase minorities in STEM fields, 2018; Blackburn, 2017). Of the 649,000 women scientists and engineers employed in 4-year colleges or universities, fewer than 11% are Black (National Science Foundation, 2019). This low percentage of African American faculty should come as no surprise as just 8.1% of bachelor’s, 6.3% of master’s, and 4.7% of doctoral degrees in science and engineering were awarded to African Americans in 2017 (National Science Board, National Science Foundation, 2019). The Women RISE project was funded by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund in 2019 as a collaborative project with Jackson State University (JSU) and the National Coalition of One Hundred Black Women, Inc., Central Mississippi Chapter (NCBW) made possible through a competitive application for an 8-month, STEM Awareness grant. JSU, a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), is a doctoral university with high research activity. The Women RISE program consisted of two major events: a research symposium with poster presentations and a peer-reviewed journal.