Addressing these issues will strengthen the STEM workforce and increase U.S. The time to act truly is now, or we as a Nation will face consequences that will take decades to undo. Participants also highlighted the need to address the complex issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility as an iterative process that moves us toward the kind of innovation that will be necessary to build a STEM ecosystem that is designed for all to succeed and strengthens the national science and technology workforce.ĭuring the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been alarming increases in the unemployment rates for women and people with gender-expansive identities. They emphasized that robust and intersectional data collection would provide more insight on how COVID-19 has impacted gender-diverse people and also provide more informative resources for the future. Participants discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing barriers that women and people with gender-expansive identities were already facing in their science and technology careers. The goal of this roundtable was to understand the institutional and structural inequities exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, identify critical failure points, and discuss the interventions that have reduced these inequities and could represent best practices for advancing equity in science and technology.ĭuring this meeting, OSTP Director, Eric Lander, and OSTP Deputy Director for Science and Society, Alondra Nelson, engaged with the participants about their expertise and experiences navigating careers in science and technology, evaluating existing datasets that assess the health of these fields for women and people with gender-expansive identities, and opportunities to deploy and scale programs, practices, and policies that have shown significant promise during the COVID-19 pandemic, including flexible working environments, fungible deadlines, affordable care-giving options, and mental health support. Nearly 20 months into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they are now facing the overlapping crises of pandemic-related negative outcomes to their career trajectories and productivity, workforce participation, and for some, caretaking responsibilities. The session, entitled “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Overlapping Crises for Women and People with Gender Expansive Identities in STEM” focused on the structural barriers women, people with gender-expansive identities, and those with multiply marginalized identities, like women of color, have long faced in their pursuit of STEM careers, as evidenced by persistent underrepresentation in science and technology, pay inequities, higher rates of sexual harassment, and lower rates of tenure and promotion. Last Tuesday, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) hosted the fifth “The Time is Now: Advancing Equity in Science & Technology” roundtable. Get Involved Show submenu for “Get Involved””.The White House Show submenu for “The White House””.
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