ASBMB supports the Women and Minorities in STEM Booster Act

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology endorses the Women and Minorities in STEM Booster Act of 2021 introduced by U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and co-sponsored by Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev. 

If enacted, this legislation would support programs designed to increase the participation of women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Grants funded by this bill would support online workshops, mentoring opportunities, internships and outreach programs for students.  

According to the National Science Foundation, women are adequately represented in certain scientific fields. But across all fields, both women and minorities are underrepresented in STEM and notably women scientists and engineers have lower median salaries than their male counterparts. Studies have shown that when women and minorities have organizational leadership or mentoring or online workshops on how to handle challenges to career progression, retention of women and minorities in STEM increases. The funding in this bill would support exactly those types of programs.  

We strongly urge Congress to pass this bill to provide funding for programs that would go a long way in supporting and retaining women and minorities in STEM.