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05.11

Diversity and Inclusion Fuels Innovation in STEM

By Nita Patel

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) in conjunction with 28 other engineering societies held a Capitol Hill Day on 13-14 April with the theme: Diversity and Inclusion Fuels Innovation in STEM. Some of the participating societies included IEEE-USA, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, Women in Engineering Program Advocates Network, The Optical Society and the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.

Similar to IEEE-USA's Congressional Visits Day, the SWE group held training on the first day. The next day included scheduled individual visits with congressional representatives. I visited with the offices of New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen, where I met with Senator Kelly Ayotte and Representative Frank Guinta.

The key messages were:

• The need to increase the STEM workforce in general (currently 1 in 4 engineers and scientists in this country is foreign born). This in itself is not bad, but more individuals are now returning to their home countries rather than staying here after graduation. Given that the single greatest driver of U.S. economic growth may be the pace of technological innovation, the United States needs to insure a strong science and engineering pipeline.

• The need to expand minority participation in STEM field. A diverse workforce will bring increased innovation to the country. Including the typically under-represented sectors of the U.S. population would also help increase the engineering pipeline.

During the training, we heard from Dr. Earnestine Psalmonds, Senior Program Office, Policy and Global Affairs Division, National Academy of Sciences on a the National Academies Report Expanding Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. Dr. Psalmonds pointed out that under-represented minority groups comprised 28.5 percent of the U.S. population in 2006 but just 9.1 percent of college-educated, science and engineering occupations.

A quick look at the demographics of the U.S. population (above) compared to the distribution in science and engineering occupations reveals that the science and engineering labor force is not representative of the U.S. population at all.

Looking specifically at women in science and engineering fields, the number choosing engineering is miniscule. In 2009, women earned 57 percent of bachelor's degrees in the United States, but only 35 percent of all STEM bachelor's degrees (of this amount, the majority were in biological and biomedical sciences rather than engineering).

We also heard from Dr. Dahlia Sokolov from the House Science, Space and Technology Committee on the importance of a strong engineering workforce to sustain national security. Damien Diggs, from the department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, spoke about the need to increase participation from all sectors of the U.S. population. Matthew Hussey from Senator Olympia Snowe’s office spoke about the STEM deficit; that is, the fact that the United States is importing more STEM graduates than it is producing at home.

Finally, we heard brief comments before dinner from the Honorable Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), Honorable Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.), Honorable Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) and the Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) about the importance of diversity, the need to have strong education policies, the importance of STEM and the key role that SWE and partnering organizations play in educating the public about the importance of STEM education.

At breakfast on the second day, we got some tips from Dr. Libby O’Hare on how to approach our congressional visits. For those of you who may be visiting your congressional representatives in the future, the following tips may be useful.

1. Introduce each individual in the group and be clear about which city you come from and where you work

2. Present clear, concise statements about your key message

3. Make the issues real by presenting personal stories. Provide local context to your message

4. Support your position with facts but do not inundate them with facts. Be sure to prepare a handout or material to leave with the congressional representative for future reference

5. Offer to be a reference should they have additional questions after the visit

6. Be attentive to the legislator’s response and stance on the issue

7. Ask for their support in clear terms. What do you want them to do?

8. Thank them for their time

Nita Patel, IEEE-USA VP of Communications and Public Awareness, is a systems/software engineer at L-3 Warrior Systems. She is an active volunteer with IEEE, Toastmasters International and the USCF. Her latest eBook, Technical Presentations Book 4: Supplements— Effective Visual Aids, is available online at http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/ebooks/. Contact Nita at nita.patel@ieee.org.

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.