Personal and Structural Elements of Support for African American Female Engineers

Abstract

Women of color, specifically African American women, within science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas are significantly underrepresented. The majority of the research addressing STEM issues is centered on increasing the pipeline, which includes recruitment, and retention of underrepresented groups in the K-12 and collegiate domain. There is little, if any, literature focused on the career development of African American female engineers, which is a vital link in the discussion that has led to a missed opportunity in creating positive change for diversity in STEM. This research presents a holistic approach to addressing the factors of support for African American female engineers, which would assuredly influence change for this group in the STEM community.