Early career Latinas in STEM continue to face challenges in academia
November 10, 2023
In 2022, Latinos, as a group, comprised more than 19% of the U.S. population or nearly 64 million individuals. People of Mexican ancestry make up almost 12% of the US population and 62.3% of Latinos. Mexican, Puerto Rican and Central American Ancestry (MPRCA) individuals represent 4 of 5 of US Latinos but continue to be underrepresented across the board in every job profession in the United States, including STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers. The disparity is even greater for Latinas in academia.
To help gain a better understanding of the underrepresentation, an intergenerational group of 16 MPRCA Latinas and allies met to identify major challenges to hiring, persistence and success faced by early career MPRCA Latinas. Their research, titled Early Career Latinas in STEM: Challenges and Solutions, was released in the publication Cell.
The group identified multi-level challenges that present barriers to MPRCA Latinas (and others) and solutions for Institutions, Departments and Mentors, and Individuals that would benefit MPRCA and the entire academic community. The challenges include financial concerns, caregiver and other family responsibilities, academic inclusion, evaluation of service, especially involving community outreach and mentoring, mentoring needs, and safe environments.
“The lack of MPRCA Latinas in academia, when research has shown that Latinas show an early interest in science but lack advanced degrees, results from early life experience, including inequitable education in low-income areas and inadequate mentoring and encouragement from teachers, but, while some of the challenges may change, they don’t end when Latinas become post-doctoral researchers and faculty in colleges and universities” said University of New Mexico Professor Emeritus of Biology, Maggie Werner-Washburne.
“Latinas and Latinos have documented success as tenure-track faculty. Latino culture values cooperation, collaboration, outreach to the community, and imagination, which is critical for scientific discovery. In addition, the number of Latinas in the US, suggests this group, with adjustments to the educational ecosystem, could contribute rapidly and significantly to innovation and growth at all levels of academia.”
Read more in the UNM Newsroom
