Government investment in science and technology has enabled the United States to lead the world in key technological advances and innovative discoveries for decades. Today, we can no longer take our leadership position for granted. The State of Science in America report provides clarity on the need for a national science and technology strategy that leverages renewed federal investment and better government agency coordination to strengthen our nation for decades to come.

Dickens said it best in his novel A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This is true of today’s science ecosystem, characterized by countervailing foundational strengths and weaknesses. On the one hand, science is making tremendous advances in research (think, for example, about the rapid development of COVID-19 therapies and about the progress in artificial intelligence). On the other hand, some facets of STEM careers seem to be buckling under the weight of serious problems, such as challenges to getting tenure and persistence in racial bias and sexual harassment. Such challenges contribute to significant mental-health stresses that scientists currently face. The mental health crisis in STEMM is being reflected nationally. For example, record levels of mental illness in the US led President Joseph Biden, in his February 2023 State of the Union Address, to announce that “tackling the mental health crisis” is one of his top priorities. An October 2022 KFF-CNN poll also indicated the extent of the problem nationally: 90% of US adults thought that there was a national mental-health crisis, as evidenced by the opioid epidemic and mental-health issues in children and teens. In January 2023, the National Academies established a roundtable, on mentorship, well-being, and professional development in the STEMM research ecosystem, paying particular attention to impacts on identity, inclusion, personal agency, and mental/financial/social well-being of grad students, postdocs, and faculty. The committee continues to meet through 2023. It will use the perspectives of participating practitioners and researchers to provide innovative examples of supportive services and effective mentorship.

Women in STEM jobs still face persistent gender gaps in wages, leadership, and career advancement opportunities. AWIS scholarships support undergraduates, PhD students, and women interested in reentering STEM fields. Applications are now open. If you are studying one of the sciences recognized by the National Science Foundation, these scholarships are for you.

According to the 2024 Salary Guide From Robert Half, 90% of technology hiring managers reported challenges finding skilled talent, and 62% of technology leaders are increasing salaries to attract and retain in-demand professionals. Learn what role you might want next – or what talent your team might need by checking out this Robert Half blog on the 15 high-paying, in-demand IT jobs for 2024.

SWE recently published a detailed report on the Collegiate Leadership Institute (CLI) highlighting how the program is changing the game for women in STEM, with a special focus on empowering women of color to lead and innovate. CLI’s mission is to equip collegiate members with the skills, knowledge, and leadership abilities that will enable them to become global leaders in their engineering and technology careers and to serve as a future pipeline for leaders in the SWE. Through virtual year-round programming, CLI aims to motivate, train, and support SWE collegiate members to successfully transition to the engineering workforce by providing valuable learning opportunities in order to accelerate the success of students entering the engineering and technology workforce. The report, drawn from surveys and focus groups, not only underscores key aspects of the CLI program, but also demonstrates SWE’s ongoing commitment to these principles. It presents a comprehensive analysis, addressing crucial research questions, which unveils CLI’s substantial influence on the educational and professional paths of women in STEM, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds.

Harvard professor Claudia Goldin was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics this morning for her research on women at work. She became the third woman in history to win the prize after Elinor Ostrom in 2009 and Esther Duflo in 2019. The awarding committee gave Goldin the prize “for having advanced our understanding of women’s labor market outcomes.” Goldin analyzed over 200 years of data from U.S. labor, and her research busted some myths about the gender pay gap and women’s participation in the labor force. In the U.S., women currently make about 82 cents for every dollar a man earns. Historically, Goldin found that differences in education and occupational choices could explain this gender gap in earnings. More recently, Goldin found that the bulk of the current earnings difference is between men and women in the same occupation. That is, when women and men hold the same job, men get paid more. Therefore, education and occupational choice cannot be totally to blame. Instead, her research suggests that the earnings difference can be blamed, at least partially, on motherhood. In one study of MBA students, Goldin and a fellow researcher found that men far outearn their female counterparts a decade after they graduate from business school. The disparities in income were predominantly tied to women’s career interruptions and a reduction in weekly work hours linked to the birth of a child.

History is filled with women who’ve made enormous contributions to science. Alice Augusta Ball, a chemist, found a cure for leprosy. The first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry, Marie Maynard Daly, discovered a connection between heart health and cholesterol back in 1955. Recently, viral immunologist Kizzmekia S. Corbett led a medical research team to develop the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The impact women have made on science is life changing, but women are still underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce. Two Minnesota scientists, Bridgette Shannon and Jayshree Seth, join MPR News host Angela Davis to talk about what it’s like to be a woman in the science field - overcoming barriers and finding success in their research and individual careers.

The Postdoctoral Diversity Enrichment Program (PDEP) provides $60,000 over three years to support the career development activities for underrepresented minority postdoctoral fellows in a degree-granting institution in the United States or Canada whose training and professional development are guided by mentors committed to helping them advance to stellar careers in biomedical or medical research. Established in 2013, with an initial 10 awards, more than 150 postdoctoral fellows have received the PDEP award to date. BWF has invested more than $9 million dollars in diversity enrichment programming and continues to provide support through a vast network of former and current grant recipients. Beginning with the 2023-2024 grant cycle, BWF and the Charles H. Revson Foundation are proud to announce a collaboration aimed at expanding diversity and inclusion in the scientific research community. This partnership supports minority scientists' advancement and enhances their contributions to various fields of research. Through PDEP, the Charles H. Revson Foundation will fund up to five additional fellowships to postdoctoral researchers at institutions located within the New York Metro area. PDEP award recipients being supported by the Charles H. Revson Foundation will be recognized as BWF PDEP/Revson Scholars.

Since 2007, Michaela Musilová has dreamt of visiting Antarctica. As an astrobiologist, she has two goals: To identify the limits of life on Earth and to assess the possibility that life as we know it exists elsewhere in the universe. Researching how life behaves in the extreme environment of Antarctica is key for her work; microbes that manage to survive the frozen environment at the end of our world could teach us a lot about their potential beyond Earth, too. Over the years, Musilová has tried a dozen times to set sail to the southernmost continent, but it never worked out. It wasn't because her mission proposals were lacking, she says. "Unfortunately, most of the time it was because an older male colleague or professor didn't want to let me go or took my place," she recalled in an interview with Space.com. Women have worked in Antarctica only since the late 1970s, prior to which they were officially banned by countries that organized research programs on the continent. Apparently, "the rigors of the continent were too great for the women and the rigors of providing separate bathroom facilities were too great for the program administrators." On her 12th attempt, the analog astronaut and former director of the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) habitat is now onboard a cruise ship on her way to Antarctica at last, with over 100 women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

Sandra Irish, mechanical systems lead structures engineer for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, has been selected to receive the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Resnik Challenger Medal Award for her visionary contributions to the development, testing, transport, and launch of NASA’s premier space telescope since 2006. The medal was awarded during the World’s Largest Conference for Women in Engineering and Technology or WE23, which took place Oct. 26-28 in Los Angeles.