[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4028 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4028
To increase the participation of historically underrepresented
demographic groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
education and industry.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 21, 2024
Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Durbin, Ms.
Klobuchar, Mr. Casey, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Butler, Mr.
Brown, and Ms. Rosen) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase the participation of historically underrepresented
demographic groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
education and industry.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Women and Underrepresented
Minorities in STEM Booster Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO INCREASE THE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN AND
UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN STEM FIELDS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), science, technology,
engineering, and math (referred to in this Act as ``STEM'')
education is critical to ensuring the United States maintains a
diverse and competitive workforce.
(2) According to NASEM and the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), diverse teams of STEM professionals innovate at
higher rates than teams composed of individuals with similar
identities or backgrounds.
(3) According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), in
2020 women earned only 43 percent of bachelor's degrees in
physical and earth sciences, 26 percent in mathematical and
computer sciences, and 24 percent in engineering. By contrast,
women earned 66 percent of bachelor's degrees in social and
behavioral sciences and 64 percent in agricultural and
biological sciences.
(4) According to the NSF, STEM degree programs that are
currently underrepresented by women also receive greater
Federal financial support for education and living expenses,
compared with degree programs with disproportionately high
female enrollment. Thus, male graduate students receive more
Federal financial support than women.
(5) According to the NSF, while Black or African Americans
made up 14 percent of the population of the United States (ages
18-34 years) in 2021, only 9 percent of bachelor's degree
recipients in science and engineering were awarded to that same
racial group. Moreover, while 22 percent of the population of
the United States (ages 18-34) were Hispanic or Latino, they
comprised only 17 percent of science and engineering bachelor's
degrees awarded that year.
(6) According to the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES), only 0.3 percent of bachelors' degrees and
less than 0.2 percent of masters and doctoral degrees in STEM
were awarded to American Indian and Alaska Native students from
2020 through 2021, less than half their representation of the
total population of the United States in 2021.
(7) According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2017 through
2021, less than 5 percent of women who worked full-time in the
United States were employed in computer, engineering, or
science occupations while more than 10 percent of men who
worked full-time in the United States were employed in
computer, engineering, or science occupations. Only 4 percent
of Black or African Americans who worked full-time in the
United States were employed in computer, engineering, or
science occupations and only 5 percent of American Indian and
Alaska Natives who worked full-time in the United States were
employed in computer, engineering, or science occupations,
while the national average of the full-time workforce in the
United States who were employed in computer, engineering, or
science occupations was 8 percent.
(8) According to the National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics (NCSES), women leave STEM fields at much
higher rates than men. In 2021, while 79 percent of women
awarded STEM degrees in 2020 were employed in a STEM
occupation, only 53 percent of women remained in STEM within 5
years of earning their highest degree, and only 44 percent
remained after 10 years. By contrast, 86 percent of men who had
earned STEM degrees in 2020 were employed in STEM occupations,
73 percent of men remained in STEM within 5 years of earning
their degree, and 70 percent of men remained in STEM after 10
years.
(9) According to NCSES, STEM retention is even lower for
women of color: in 2021, only 50 percent of Black women and 44
percent of Hispanic women who received STEM degrees in 2020
were employed in a STEM occupation, compared with 82 percent of
white, non-Hispanic women. Less than 30 percent of Black or
Hispanic women remained in STEM after 10 years, compared with
52 percent of white, non-Hispanic women.
(10) According to NCSES, STEM retention rates for Black or
Hispanic men are higher than for women of any race but lower
than white, non-Hispanic men. In 2021, 87 percent of Black or
Hispanic men who received STEM degrees in 2020 were employed in
a STEM occupation, compared with 93 percent of white, non-
Hispanic men. Only 51 percent of Black and 61 percent of
Hispanic men remained in STEM after 10 years, compared with 74
percent of white, non-Hispanic men.
(11) Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that certain
Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI)
subgroups are still underrepresented in STEM. From 2017 through
2021, while 8 percent of workers in the United States were
employed in computing, engineering, and science occupations,
less than 8 percent of Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, and Laotian
workers were employed in these occupations. Only 4 percent of
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander (NHPI) workers were
employed in these occupations. These subgroups are even less
represented when compared to AANHPI workers as a whole, who on
average represented 17 percent of the computing, engineering,
and science workforce of the United States.
(12) Also, according to NCES, Native Hawaiian and other
Pacific Islander (NHPI) STEM degree recipients are
underrepresented compared with their overall population (0.2
percent of all U.S. individuals). NHPI students received less
than 0.2 percent of all bachelor's degrees, and less than 0.1
percent of masters and doctoral degrees, awarded in STEM from
2020 through 2021.
(13) According to research published by the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS),
undergraduate students identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual,
or queer (LGBQ) were 7 percent less likely to be retained in
STEM programs compared with their heterosexual counterparts,
despite the fact that LGBQ students are 10 percent more likely
to participate in undergraduate research experiences, which is
a significant contributor to STEM retention absent other
factors such as sexual or gender identity, than their
heterosexual counterparts.
(14) According to research published by the American
Society for Cell Biology, transgender and gender nonconforming
undergraduate students, who represent 1 in 14 adults in the
United States aged 18-24, are 10 percent less likely to remain
in STEM majors than their cisgender counterparts.
(15) Research published by the AAAS also indicates that 22
percent of LGBTQ professionals had thought about leaving their
STEM job, compared with 15 percent of non-LGBTQ STEM
professionals. Moreover, 12 percent of LGBTQ professionals
planned to leave their STEM profession within the next 5 years,
compared with 8 percent of non-LGBTQ professionals.
(16) Finally, according to the NSF, persons with a
disability are underrepresented in the general workforce (4
percent) compared with their representation in the general U.S.
population (9 percent), and even less represented in the STEM
workforce (3 percent).
(b) Program Authorized.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation shall award grants to eligible entities, on a competitive
basis, to enable such eligible entities to carry out the activities
described in subsection (d), in order to increase the participation of
women, persons underrepresented in science and engineering, and persons
with disabilities in the fields of science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics.
(c) Application.--Each eligible entity that desires to receive a
grant under this section shall submit an application to the National
Science Foundation at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Director of the National Science Foundation may
reasonably require.
(d) Authorized Activities.--An eligible entity that receives a
grant under this section shall use such grant funds to carry out 1 or
more of the following activities designed to increase the participation
of women, persons underrepresented in science and engineering, or
persons with disabilities, or 2 or more of such groups, in the fields
of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics:
(1) Online workshops.
(2) Mentoring programs that partner science, technology,
engineering, or mathematics professionals with students.
(3) Internships for undergraduate and graduate students in
the fields of science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics.
(4) Conducting outreach programs that provide elementary
school and secondary school students with opportunities to
increase their exposure to the fields of science, technology,
engineering, or mathematics.
(5) Programs to increase the recruitment and retention of
underrepresented faculty.
(6) Such additional programs as the Director of the
National Science Foundation may determine.
(e) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Minority.--The term ``minority'' means American Indian,
Alaskan Native, Black (not of Hispanic origin), Hispanic
(including persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central
or South American origin), Asian (including underrepresented
subgroups), Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander origin subgroup,
or other ethnic group underrepresented in science and
engineering, or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer
(LGBTQ), or gender-nonconforming.
(2) Underrepresented in science and engineering.--The term
``underrepresented in science and engineering'' means a
minority group whose number of scientists and engineers per
10,000 population of that group is substantially below the
comparable figure for scientists and engineers who are White
and not of Hispanic origin, as determined by the Secretary of
Education under section 637.4(b) of title 34, Code of Federal
Regulations (or a similar successor regulation).
(3) Person with a disability.--The term ``person with a
disability'' means an individual with 1 or more disability
types as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population
Survey (CPS).
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029.
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