Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2022
Abstract
A large and vibrant science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce has a range of benefits for the economic and social well-being of communities; yet, women continue to be underrepresented in these occupations. Nationally, in 2017, women accounted for over half of the college-educated workforce but made up only 29% of those employed in science and engineering occupations, while being overrepresented in STEMrelated fields like healthcare. Nebraska’s STEM workforce is reflective of national trends. In 2019, about 27% of Nebraska women 25 years or older worked in a core STEM occupation, which we can estimate to be about 15,300 women (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019). Women of color are even less represented. In partnership with the Center for Public Affairs Research (CPAR) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), Bio Nebraska and the Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures sponsored an extensive qualitative research initiative to better understand the challenges and opportunities for women working in STEM occupations in Nebraska. In order to hear the lived experiences of women working in STEM, researchers at UNO CPAR conducted 48 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with women working in STEM occupations and residing in Nebraska.
Recommended Citation
Schafer, Josie Gatti; Vogel, Morgan; Grell, Tara; Parker, Amanda; Gomez-Aguinaga, Barbara; Maxwelll, Shawn; and Kim, Yeonkyung, "Nebraska’s Women in Stem | Listen Then Act" (2022). Publications. 642.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cparpubarchives/642