skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Differentiated career ecosystems: Toward understanding underrepresentation and ameliorating disparities in STEM
Prior work has identified the career ecosystem as a metaphor that represents the multilevel forces influencing individual careers, with the assumption that all individuals experience the ecosystem similarly. We explore how the career ecosystem might be differentiated for different groups of actors within it because of varying cultural and systemic forces. We focus on STEM careers as an exemplar to understand the contextual factors contributing to the low representation and high occupational turnover of women and other underrepresented groups. Based on the career ecosystem metaphor, we develop a multilevel model linking societal, organizational, and occupational cultures with individual career decision making and behavior in the STEM context and show how the resilience of the career ecosystem is different based on gender and racial/ethnic identity. Additionally, we propose ways to interrupt the ecosystem’s feedback loop to create a more resilient STEM career ecosystem for women and members of racial and ethnic minoritized groups.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1824237
PAR ID:
10561180
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Elsevier
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Human Resource Management Review
Volume:
34
Issue:
1
ISSN:
1053-4822
Page Range / eLocation ID:
101002
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; (, Biomedical Engineering Education)
    Underrepresentation of female students and specific racial/ethnic groups persists in STEM despite decades of intervention. Evidence suggests a need to encourage interest in STEM fields at the middle-school level. Adolescent career aspirations are influenced by exposure to role models and mindsets, such as a sense of perceived personal capacity. The purpose of this study was to measure how exposure to role models and work-based microbadging affects students’ mindsets related to pursuit of STEM careers. Middle school students rated their intent to pursue a STEM career before and after completing a series of Quest-Challenge pairs featuring role models, including a biomedical engineer, in the Couragion application, along with their confidence, motivation, and enjoyment through in-app surveys. Data from students in well-represented and underrepresented STEM demographics were compared. Intent to pursue a STEM career increased after Couragion app intervention. Divided into demographic groups, increases were observed in students from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups and female students. Students reported increased confidence, motivation, and enjoyment after interacting with the app. Additionally, students reported confidence in STEM career success and motivation to apply themselves academically. This study showed increased intent, confidence, motivation, and enjoyment in middle school students related to STEM careers. The Couragion app intervention effectively improved metrics that inform students’ future academic and professional decisions. Widely implementing this type of intervention during middle school could help narrow the representation gap in STEM fields. 
    more » « less
  2. ; (, International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education)
    null (Ed.)
    Purpose The unequitable representation among genders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees and careers remains a persisting challenge. Peer mentoring has been cited as one method for supporting women and racial and ethnic minorities in becoming interested in, experiencing self-efficacy in and persisting in STEM. The current study was undertaken to explore how and in what ways peer mentors' participation in the program (namely, the mentoring experience) influenced their STEM self-efficacy beliefs, interests, skills and behaviors, including their intent to persist and actual persistence in STEM. Design/methodology/approach Using a multisite case study design, the current study implemented a blended peer mentoring program at two historically black institutions. Findings The experience in the peer mentoring process increased mentors' self-efficacy, career interest, perceived mentoring skill development in most areas and intent to persist in STEM. Evidence from the interviews and open-ended survey questions demonstrated that the peer mentoring experience had a direct influence on the mentor's self-efficacy, career interest, leadership and professional skills and persistence. The thematic analysis of the data sources revealed that specific elements of the peer mentoring experience influenced mentors' beliefs, interests, skills and behaviors, including recognition, functioning as a mentor, developing an other's orientation, engaging in a sisterhood and developing competencies. Originality/value Findings support the benefit of the blended peer mentoring program model among women who identify as a racial or ethnic minority across two historically black college or universities (HBCUs). Peer mentoring programs should include training to increase competencies and skills, should provide resources targeted to specific mentor needs and should include opportunities for self-reflection and components of faculty support. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; (, IEEE)
    The longstanding underrepresentation and attrition of minoritized racial and ethnic groups and women in computing courses, majors, and careers continues to plague researchers, educators, and policymakers alike. Informed by Sue and colleague’s microaggression framework and Rowe's microaffirmation framework, this study theorizes identity-related factors that undermine and support efforts to increase the representation and meaningful participation of minoritized racial and ethnic groups and women in computing education. We conclude with implications for teaching practices to advance equity, inclusion, and justice in computing education. 
    more » « less
  4. ; (, AERA Open)
    The racial/ethnic disparities and average declines in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) motivation during adolescence are worrisome. Although STEM motivational beliefs are theorized to function in conjunction with one another, the unique patterns and how they change over time for different racial/ethnic groups remain understudied. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study ( N = 18,260), we identified four and five patterns of math and science motivational beliefs in 9th and 11th grade, respectively, and examined their prevalence among Asian, Black, Latina/o, White, and Multiracial adolescents. We found patterns with overall high/low beliefs, patterns with varying levels of motivational beliefs, and patterns characterized by domain differentiation. Then, we charted the stability and changes in those patterns from 9th to 11th grade for each racial/ethnic group and how the patterns at 11th grade were associated with adolescents’ STEM career expectations and high school math and science grade point averages. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Science Advances)
    null (Ed.)
    Researchers often invoke the metaphor of a pipeline when studying participation in careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), focusing on the important issue of students who “leak” from the pipeline, but largely ignoring students who persist in STEM. Using interview, survey, and institutional data over 6 years, we examined the experiences of 921 students who persisted in biomedical fields through college graduation and planned to pursue biomedical careers. Despite remaining in the biomedical pipeline, almost half of these students changed their career plans, which was almost twice the number of students who abandoned biomedical career paths altogether. Women changed plans more often and were more likely than men to change to a career requiring fewer years of post-graduate education. Results highlight the importance of studying within-pipeline patterns rather than focusing only on why students leave STEM fields. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email