Interrogating Structural Racism in STEM Higher Education

Abstract

The racialized structure of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) higher education maintains gross inequities that are illustrative of structural racism, which both informs and is reinforced by discriminatory beliefs, policies, values, and distribution of resources. Thus, an examination into structural racism in STEM is needed to expose the marginalization of underrepresented groups in STEM and to improve understanding of the STEM policies, practices, and procedures that allow the foundation of racism to remain intact. I argue that, even at the top of the education hierarchy, Black STEM doctorate students and PhD degree holders consistently endure the racist residue of higher education institutions and STEM employers. Thus, this manuscript also discusses how universities institutionalize diversity mentoring programs designed mostly to fix (read “assimilate”) underrepresented students of color while ignoring or minimizing the role of the STEM departments in creating racially hostile work and educational spaces. I argue that, without a critical examination of the structural racism omnipresent in the STEM, progress in racially diversifying STEM will continue at a snail’s pace.

An Intersectional Approach to Investigating Persistence Among Women of Color Tenure-Track Engineering Faculty

“…WOC directly and specifically related their decision to persist in their faculty positions or even take on an administrative role at their institutions because of the support they had and continued to receive. This makes sense because asking faculty to persist and not offering different types of support in that process creates an oppressive environment (McGee, 2020). Their racialized and gendered form of support mostly came from external environments; thus institutions could design support that recognizes the raced and gendered challenges that WOC endure in the workplace.…”

Success for All? A Call to Re-examine How Student Success Is Defined in Higher Education

“…Re-examining Student Success success if they work hard enough (Collins, 2018;McGee, 2020). This narrative shifts blame for unequal outcomes (e.g., wage gaps, lowered academic persistence and achievement) to minoritized groups who "don't work hard enough" or are deficit in some other way, instead of recognizing the structures and institutions that center power with the majority.…”

“…While seemingly inert, these dominant frameworks translate into policies and structures that harm minoritized students (Solorzano and Yosso, 2001). For example, school tracking systems (Rosenbaum, 1976;Southworth and Mickelson, 2007), intelligence testing (Rose, 1976;Solorzano and Yosso, 2001), and disparate resource availability (Tate, 2008;Green et al, 2017) have historically been used to maintain social hierarchies by advancing the education of white students while justifying modern-day segregation and deficit notions of BIPOC students (Solorzano and Yosso, 2001;Yosso, 2005;McGee, 2020). Using a CRT lens allows us to explore how our current definitions and metrics of success do not come from neutral, unbiased, or meritocratic ideals, as is often assumed; instead they have been founded on racist principles.…”

“…Solorzano and Yosso (2001) point out that racial stereotypes form the basis for the dominant “deficit notions” of BIPOC. For example, a common narrative in the United States is the idea of meritocracy, or “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps,” whereby minoritized groups can find success if they work hard enough ( Collins, 2018 ; McGee, 2020 ). This narrative shifts blame for unequal outcomes (e.g., wage gaps, lowered academic persistence and achievement) to minoritized groups who “don’t work hard enough” or are deficit in some other way, instead of recognizing the structures and institutions that center power with the majority.…”

Introduction: Striving for social justice and equity in higher education

“…During this time, discussions of ethnicity, social justice, and the impact of structural racism became the leading and constant stories featured by news and other media and further stoked by its foregrounding in U.S. election strategy and coverage. Conversely, the conversation and work in academic circles had already begun to evolve to focus on structural racism within educational organizations and systems (McGee, 2020;Merolla & Jackson, 2019). These discussions focus on the framing of education and scrutinize whose frames of reference for education and excellence mattered in the framing, directly exposing institutional injustices often experienced by people of color and underrepresented populations (Burke, 2020;Crowley & Smith, 2020;Solórzano & Pérez-Huber, 2020).…”