Engineering Emergency: African Americans and Hispanics Lack Pathways to Engineering. Vital Signs: Reports on the Condition of STEM Learning in the U.S. (2014). In Change the Equation. Change the Equation.

In 2010, former President Obama launched the “Change the Equation” initiative to dramatically improve education in STEM as part of his “Educate to Innovate” campaign. Change the Equation is a nonprofit organization whose main purpose is to enhance and mobilize the business community which in return will improve the quality of STEM education in the U.S. The report “Engineering Emergency: African Americans and Hispanics Lack Pathways to Engineering” highlights some of the roots caused for racial inequality in STEM while providing adequate solutions through proper education and representation for people of color. The report begins by emphasizing how difficult it is for people of color to access quality education which is a vital foundation for a successful future. Change the Equation states, “Fifty years after Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty, millions of Americans still lack opportunities to join the middle class. A quality education that leads to good jobs offers a reliable pathway to economic security, yet the first step on that pathway remains inaccessible to far too many Americans, especially Americans of color.” It is no secret that quality education sets one up not only for a successful professionally but also personally. However, quality education is still inaccessible for people of color which puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to securing a good job no matter their intended field and living a life poverty-free. While analyzing the salaries and job availability for people with engineering bachelor’s degrees, Change the Equation found that “Nowhere is this inequity more apparent than in engineering. On average, people with engineering bachelor’s degrees earn higher salaries than people with bachelor’s degrees in any other field, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 690,000 engineering job openings by 2022. New CTEq analysis of U.S. Department of Education data finds that African Americans and Hispanics remain much less likely than white Americans to reap these rewards, presenting both a moral and an economic crisis. This disparity deepens income inequality in the U.S. while leaving untapped the creative potential of millions of Americans.” Knowing that people with engineering bachelor’s degrees earn higher salaries than people with bachelor’s degrees in other fields and have enormous amounts of job openings, one would think that race would not affect people who have successfully acquired a bachelor’s degree in engineering. But that is not the case people of color with engineering bachelor’s degrees are less likely to get a job with a good salary or even one within their intended engineering field. Moreover, the Change the Equation initiative does not only highlight the inequalities people of color face throughout their educational and professional life. The report states, “We cannot address these inequities through college programs alone. Instead, we must strengthen the pipeline to engineering and other STEM fields in our elementary and secondary schools by setting high academic expectations for all students while greatly expanding minorities’ access to advanced STEM learning opportunities.” College is not the only way to bridge the racial gap within the STEM education system. A way to close the racial gap is by setting high academic standards and expectations for all students and providing access to advance STEM learning opportunities for people of color throughout elementary and secondary schools. Change the Equation examines the percentage of people of color who acquired engineering degrees and certificates. The report states, “African Americans and Hispanics comprise a third of the college-aged population, yet together they earn less than 16 percent of all engineering degrees and certificates. Though their college-aged population has grown since 2001, their share of degrees and certificates remained mostly flat.”  So now getting more people of color in STEM but also providing sufficient educational resources for them to obtain a college degree in their engineering field.

Providing minorities and people of color with sufficient educational resources to fund their engineering career path is a sure way to racially diversify STEM.  Creating equal educational opportunities for people of color is one thing but getting them interested and motivated to excel in a STEM Field is another thing. So, I agree with the solution “we must strengthen the pipeline to engineering and other STEM fields in our elementary and secondary schools by setting high academic expectations for all students while greatly expanding minorities’ access to advanced STEM learning opportunities.” Providing educational opportunities where people of color excel will motivate them to continue their STEM career path to the college level and beyond thus bridging the racial gap in STEM.

The information provided by the Change the Equation is very insightful and direct. The report highlighted the inequalities people of color face in the educational system. The use of data and statistics made the report more credible. The purpose of the report is not only to shine light on the dire need for racial equality in STEM but also to promote the positive effects of equal educational opportunities for minorities and people of color as it would lead to the continuous closing or shrinking of the racial gap in STEM. The Change the Equation organization is very credible since it was launched by a former President and the work they have done for minorities and people of color is easily accessible via a simple Google search.

 

“A quality education that leads to good jobs offers a reliable pathway to economic security, yet the first step on that pathway remains inaccessible to far too many Americans, especially Americans of color.”

“Department of Education data finds that African Americans and Hispanics remain much less likely than white Americans to reap these rewards, presenting both a moral and an economic crisis. This disparity deepens income inequality in the U.S. while leaving untapped the creative potential of millions of Americans.”

“We cannot address these inequities through college programs alone. Instead, we must strengthen the pipeline to engineering and other STEM fields in our elementary and secondary schools by setting high academic expectations for all students while greatly expanding minorities’ access to advanced STEM learning opportunities.”