While strides have been made for women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in seeking careers in science and engineering, as a recent report from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics shows, the pandemic has exacerbated problems that disadvantage these groups. In what was the closing event for “Understanding Diversity in STEM: WMPD Day” on May 12, a panel of social and behavioral scientists discussed how we can build a more diverse and dynamic workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by addressing issues like:

• What does privilege look like within STEM? How can understanding this in turn support those who don’t share the same privileges?
• How has learning become “racialized” and how does this hurt students and scholars of color?
• How can institutions build “cultures of growth” to motivate and engage underrepresented students and faculty?
• And what does all of this mean in a post-pandemic world?

Panelists included sociologist Erin Cech; psychologist Mary Murphy, and education researcher Na’ilah Suad Nasir. Social psychologist Claude Steele will moderate the event. (Full bios appear below.)

This 90-minute event was sponsored by the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and SAGE Publishing.