Why We Need to Mentor Black People in STEM

The social justice and equity community of researchers are often divided when it comes to access versus opportunity. To be sure, programs and initiatives have emerged to target Black students’ access to STEM experiences. However, access isn’t enough to help keep Black students in the pipeline to STEM majors and careers. To increase diversity in STEM industries, Black people need mentorship to gain access to STEM and opportunities to persist in STEM majors and careers. Black people have unique experiences in the STEM pipeline. They encounter fewer STEM role models in their communities and less exposure to informal STEM opportunities (e.g., math clubs, makerspaces, coding clubs). The inequalities that Black people face along the pathway to STEM careers start much earlier than adulthood. Black boys and girls receive messages earlier in life that perpetuates the idea that STEM isn’t “a Black thing.” In childhood, Black girls receive different messages about what kind of person does STEM, consequentially steering them away from mathematics, engineering, and other STEM fields that are densely occupied by White men. To address these disparities, we need mentorship to influence the social and psychological experiences of Black students in STEM that don’t just give them access to STEM but also help them stick with it.

People who are mentored receive professional and psychological support. Mentored individuals are more likely to experience professional promotions, retention in their majors/careers, improved self-confidence in one’s abilities, learning (new skills and emotional intelligence), and psychological development. Mentorship is a proven way to help keep anyone in STEM majors and careers. Under the guidance of a STEM mentor, students’ attitudes toward STEM change and their motivations to pursue a career in STEM improve. Yet, Black people are largely left to navigate their way to and through STEM majors and careers, alone. It is no wonder, so few Black people enter STEM industries.