Navigating the Intersectionality of Race/Ethnicity, Culture, and Gender Identity as an Aspiring Latina STEM Student

From Imagined to In-Practice and Performed STEM Identities: Measuring the Impact of a Latina STEM Fellowship on the Educational Trajectories of Latina High School Students

“…"Cultural identity is intricately related to…social domains such as education, employment and how people want to live out their lives" (Obsiye & Cook, 2016, p. 1062. Even though cultural identity as a determined fact has been problematized (Hall, 1990), recent studies documenting the impact of STEM-based educational interventions have highlighted how participants both lean into and leverage their cultural identity for resilience, but also feel the weight of stereotypic and negative contingencies linked to their identities as Latinas in STEM fields of study (Gonzalez et al, 2020;Sparks et al, 2021).…”

“…2 Individuals who are just one generation removed from immigration to the U.S. 3 Gender inclusive term for Latinos persistence of Latinas in STEM and the development of resilience that can come from Latina professor role models, who share cultural values and ethnicity and "family and strong support systems that reflected their Hispanic culture" (pp. 9-10; see also Ruiz, 2013;Sparks et al, 2021).…”

“…Similarly, Sparks et al (2021) describe the importance of spaces and programs that provide access to Latina STEM professional role models and mentors, where students are encouraged to draw on "their race/ethnicity and culture for resiliency" (p. 11). A final related example of identity work around successful Latinas in STEM comes from Martínez et al (2019), who utilize the theoretical construct of contextual mitigating factors (CMFs) to understand how Latinas develop "critical consciousness in the form of resiliency" in STEM related contextualized spaces and social interactions in order to "develop the ability to succeed in STEM pipelines" (p. 1098).…”

“…Researchers in STEM have begun to document the impact of raising young women's critical mass in STEM, via camps, such as Bindis' (2020) study on the Women in Science Experience (WISE) novel summer camp. Less common is research that addresses multiple intersections of marginalization, such as being young, female, and Latina and the effectiveness of such camps on disrupting these STEM positioned identities (Sparks et al, 2021).…”

“…Latinas can experience much of the same identity positioning, both ascribed and avowed, when it comes to STEM related content classes where they do not see teachers who look like them, lack STEM role-models in their lives, or have never heard of nor studied famous Latinx scientists and mathematicians (Sparks et al, 2021). Furthermore, if their schools do not provide opportunities for STEM related communities of practice, tapping into STEM interests and nurturing Latina students' imagined STEM identities may require in-practice, out-of-school STEM fellowship, that purposefully invites and supports young Latinas.…”