Diversity Without A Backbone

 see an increased dedication to diversity and a commitment to quantify the ideal in schools, workplaces, towns and cities in which we live and interact. We have simply been looking at diversity too numerically, particularly in STEM. This makes sense—by design, STEM fields are heavily rooted in numbers, data and statistics. I believe, however, that a grave oversight is made when we quantify diversity in the same way we look at lab results.                                                   

Companies such as Google, for instance, have launched Annual Reviews detailing their global diversity statistics in hiring. While this is a well thought-out method of holding companies accountable, we should be looking at diversity with greater scrutiny. Though it is good to say that Google hired 2.5 percent more women when comparing data from 2014 and 2018, we have to look at the hiring pool that Google is pulling from. 

The majority of STEM fields are more saturated with women and people of color than in the past since their work has been neglected for so long. But some 84% of STEM professionals in the United States are white or Asian males, and modern trends are alarming—we have seen a 12% drop in women earning computer science degrees since 1991. A question arises: why are we seeing fewer women and people of color seeking STEM degrees?

One answer might be an oversaturated pool of possible hires and a general lack of opportunities. It might be, then, more financially smart for people just to seek out other careers. But this is not true. STEM is one of the fastest-growing fields in the US, with a projected 28.2% increase in the number of jobs between 2014 and 2024. 

Another answer might be the rampant sexism in Silicon Valley. Increased documentation of sexist behavior may have turned women away from pursuing careers in STEM. But this sexism has always existed. I see it in Ada Lovelace, the first known computer coder and software developer, whose accomplishments in the 1840s are still shrouded in controversy over how much her male colleagues contributed to her work.

So, the question remains. 

The answer comes in going beyond just statistics. If we look at just the numbers, just hiring and company data, we lose the nuance of where these people, these percentage points, come from. And where these people come from matters.

Right now, we have no backbone for diversity. Not everyone has access to the ladder between a childhood interest and a professional career in STEM. This backbone means having diverse mentorship in our K-12 schools. 

It has further been demonstrated that kids pursue adult mentors or teachers that look like them to inform what they can do. By this, I mean that having adults in your field who share some aspect of your identity helps you learn more about that field.

Not all groups have adequate representation in their mentors. In 2011-12, 82% of all public school teachers were white, 7% were black and 8% were Hispanic. In that year, 51% of K-12 public school students were white, 16% were black and 24% were Hispanic, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It cannot be denied that there is an overwhelming lack of representation for teachers of color.

 Data is not readily available for the diversity for LGBTQIA+ teachers since 6 states have “No Promo Homo” laws on the books and in many states it is still legal to fire a teacher who comes out as LGBTQ+. The problems that exist in the broader society exist in STEM.

Don’t be fooled—Exeter is a microcosm of this problem in STEM education. Staying true to the STEM acronym, our science, computer science, and math faculty are our STEM mentors at Exeter. Out of our 50 adults who teach STEM classes at Exeter, a vast majority are white men—the next largest constituency is white women. 

This is wildly disproportionate to our actual student population. According to Exeter’s self-released statistics, 46.6% of Exonians are students of color, 50.8% male, 48.8% female and 0.4% of a self-identified gender. 

“Dont be fooled-Exeter is a microcosm of this problem in STEM education”

We can also see this demonstrated in anecdotal evidence. For example, I am a non-binary person who has been interested in STEM since the 3rd grade. Thus, I have encountered hundreds of STEM educators across my schools, even if they didn’t mentor me specifically. Still, I have never met a non-binary identifying adult mentor who is interested in STEM. 

This whole argument may bring up a chicken and egg scenario for some. How can you have diverse STEM mentors without first having diverse STEM mentors to mentor the diverse STEM mentors? Well, someone always has to be the first. 

The route to breaking barriers is not easy, but we have seen people do it before. For example, Alan Hart was one of the first female-to-male trans people in the United States to undergo a hysterectomy. Hart was also a Yale graduate later regarded as a leader in the fight against tuberculosis due to his expertise in public health. 

Another example is Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Ride also shared a loving 27-year relationship with her female partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy. 

“Still I have never met a non

binary identifying adult mentor who is interested in STEM”

I see in these examples that there is hope for minority communities to break barriers in STEM. The lack of adequate mentorship, however, makes it harder for us to reach the diversity that STEM needs to thrive. Why don’t we make it easier by pushing and urging Exeter to make a commitment to diverse teachers and on-campus mentors in the STEM fields?