The award to TERC, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, provides support for a mini-symposium focused on women of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This mini-symposium is scheduled to be held at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, Virginia, on October 27-28, 2009. Goals of this event are 1) to bring together scholars, practitioners, program directors, students, and members of the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) to focus on current issues, and understandings in STEM education for women of color, and 2) to consider potential directions for future actions in research, programs, and policy to increase this population?s representation in STEM education and careers. Products include a summary of findings and a book, summarizing information shared during the mini-symposium, as well as supplemental data. The results of this mini-symposium will enable CEOSE to make informed recommendations to NSF on how to better address challenges and barriers that women of color encounter as they prepare for and enter into STEM fields. Ultimately, the results of this mini-symposium will be beneficial to the STEM community. These beneficial results are those that include the identification and discussion of challenges and barriers and the laying of the foundation for strategies to negate negative impact on earning degrees by and increasing the workforce population of women of color in STEM fields.
