Sense of Belonging and Community Building within a STEM Intervention Program: A Focus on Latino Male Undergraduates’ Experiences

Relying on semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 13 Latino male undergraduates in engineering, this study explored students experiences and sense of belonging within a Minority Retention Program at a 4-year public university in California. Findings support extent research on the importance of structural interventions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) while highlighting nuance in experiences of Latino males, including perceptions of stigma associated with participation. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Measuring and Resolving LGBTQ Disparities in STEM

LGBTQ people have pioneered major scientific advances, but they face challenges in STEM that ultimately waste human talent and hinder scientific progress. Growing evidence suggests that LGBTQ people in STEM are statistically underrepresented, encounter non-supportive environments, and leave STEM at an alarming rate. Potential factors driving LGBTQ disparities in STEM include bias and discrimination, misalignments of occupational interests with STEM stereotypes, and STEM norms of impersonality that isolate LGBTQ people. LGBTQ retention shares common psychological processes with female and racial minority retention such as STEM identification and belonging. The key barrier to better understanding and addressing LGBTQ challenges in STEM is the lack of sexual orientation or gender identity (SO/GI) demographic data on the U.S. STEM workforce. Policy recommendations include (a) adding SO/GI measures to federal STEM-census surveys; (b) broadening agencies’ definition of underrepresented groups to include LGBTQ people; and (c) incorporating LGBTQ identity into accountability systems and diversity programs at STEM institutions.