As the pandemic turned workplaces upside down, women in particular have been negatively impacted. Women, especially women of color, are more likely to have been laid off or furloughed and the supports that working women relied on, namely school and child care, have been upended.

The number of U.S.-trained female science, engineering, or health (SEH) doctorate holders residing and working in the U.S. has more than doubled, going  from 119,350 in 1997 to 287,250 in 2017, according to a new report from the National Science Foundation (NSF). In 1997, less than one-fourth (23 percent) of the U.S.-trained SEH doctorate holders working in the U.S. were women. Twenty years later, that number had increased to 35 percent.

Although men and whites still make up the largest share of the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce, it has been gradually diversifying over the past 10 years, with increased representation of women and underrepresented minorities — that is, Hispanics or Latinos, Blacks or African Americans, and American Indians or Alaska Natives, according to the 2023 biennial report, Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities, from the National Center

As opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) develop around the country, different inclusion programs are being put in place to increase participation for women in the field. SSTI previously released an article highlighting the lack of female participation in certain STEM careers, like computer science and engineering, despite tech industries growing in different cities around the country.

A recent working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Self-reinforcing Glass Ceilings by Carlos F. Avenancio-León, Alessio Piccolo, and Leslie Sheng Shen delves into the complexities of the gender pay gap, even after it has narrowed. The authors challenge the conventional understanding that a shrinking gender pay gap automatically leads to greater gender equality.