,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #begh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #bf1 #bjai,ms4 ,hirono 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 and ,ms4 ,rosen7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to increase the participation of historically underrepresented demographic groups in science1 technology1 engineering1 and mathematics education and industry4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,women and ,minorities in ,,stem ,booster ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,grant program to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in stem fields 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,according to the ,national ,academy of ,sciences1 ,,stem education at the undergraduate level is vital to developing a workforce that will allow the ,united ,states to remain the leader in the #bast century global economy4 7#b7 ,according to a recent ,american ,community ,survey ,report on disparities in ,,stem employment conducted in #bjac1 women comprise about half of the ,united ,states workforce but only make up #bf percent of ,,stem workers4 7#c7 ,according to the ,national ,science ,foundation1 women only represent #bh percent of all science and engineering workers1 comprising #bi percent of physical scientists1 #be percent of computer and mathematical scientists1 and #ac percent of engineers4 7#d7 ,according to the ,national ,center of ,education ,statistics 7,,nces71 women were more likely than men to switch out of ,,stem majors--#cb percent compared to #bf percent4 7#e7 ,additionally1 ,,nces found that while a higher percentage of bachelor's degrees were awarded to females than to males in #bjaf1 7#eh percent compared to #db percent71 within ,,stem fields a lower percentage of bachelor's degrees were awarded to females than to males 7#cf percent compared to #fd percent74 7#f7 ,according to the #bjaj ,association of ,american ,university ,women report ,why ,so ,few8 approximately #eb percent of women in ,,stem fields quit their jobs about #aj years into their careers4 ,it is important for gender equality to increase the retention of women in ,,stem fields1 as women in ,,stem careers earn #cc percent more than those in non-,,stem jobs1 and have a smaller wage gap relative to men4 7#g7 ,according to recent ,census ,bureau projections1 minorities will account for #eg percent of the ,united ,states population by #bjfj4 7#h7 ,according to the ,national ,action ,council for ,minorities in ,engineering1 ,inc41 as the ,united ,states works to remain competitive in the world of technological innovation1 the ,united ,states should address the need to increase the number of individuals from underrepresented minority segments of the population who work in engineering4 7#i7 ,the ,higher ,education ,research ,institute at the ,university of ,california1 ,los ,angeles1 found that1 while freshmen from underrepresented minority groups express an interest in pursuing a ,,stem undergraduate degree at the same rate as all other freshmen1 only #bb percent of ,latino students1 #ah percent of ,african-,american students1 and #ai percent of ,native ,american students studying in ,,stem fields complete their degree within #e years1 compared to around #cc percent and #db percent #e-year completion rates for ,white and ,asian students1 respectively4 7#aj7 ,according to the #bjae ,asian ,americans ,advancing ,justice report ,making ,america ,work1 data on ,asian ,americans and ,pacific ,islanders 7,a,a,p,is7 on average hide the fact that some subgroups are underrepresented in ,,stem fields1 with only #i percent of ,cambodian1 #h percent of ,laotian1 #h percent of ,hmong1 and #g percent of ,native ,hawaiian and ,pacific ,islander workers hold ,,stem jobs1 compared to #ab percent of the total ,american population holding ,,stem jobs4 7#aa7 ,according to #c-year estimates from the #bjac ,american ,community ,survey1 ,southeast ,asian ,americans and ,pacific ,islanders have higher poverty rates and lower educational attainment rates compared to the overall population4 7#ab7 ,additionally1 while #ae percent of the overall population lives below the ,federal poverty level1 several minority populations have significantly higher poverty rates including #bj percent of ,native ,hawaiian and ,pacific ,islanders1 #ba percent of ,cambodian1 #bh percent of ,hmong1 #ag percent of ,laotian1 and #cc percent of ,bhutanese ,americans4 ,compared to #cj percent of the overall population with a bachelor's degree or higher1 less than #bj percent of ,pacific ,islanders1 ,cambodians1 ,hmongs1 ,laotians1 and ,bhutanese had a bachelor's degree or higher at rates of #ae percent1 #ah percent1 #ag percent1 #af percent1 and #i percent1 respectively4 ,levels of poverty and postsecondary educational attainment correlate with these groups' underrepresentation in ,,stem employment4 ,other ,asian ,american and ,pacific ,islander subgroups with similar poverty and educational attainment rates are similarly underrepresented in ,,stem employment4 7#ac7 ,a #bjad ,national ,center for ,education ,statistics study found that women and underrepresented minorities leave the ,,stem fields at higher rates than their counterparts1 leading to a need to develop resources to retain these groups in the ,,stem fields4 7b7 ,program authorized ,the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation shall award grants to eligible entities1 on a competitive basis1 to enable such eligible entities to carry out the activities described in subsection 7d71 in order to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in the fields of science1 technology1 engineering1 and mathematics4 7c7 ,application ,each eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an application to the ,national ,science ,foundation at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation may reasonably require4 7d7 ,authorized activities ,an eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use such grant funds to carry out one or more of the following activities designed to increase the participation of women or minorities underrepresented in science and engineering1 or both3 7#a7 ,online workshops4 7#b7 ,mentoring programs that partner science1 technology1 engineering1 or mathematics professionals with students4 7#c7 ,internships for undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of science1 technology1 engineering1 and mathematics4 7#d7 ,conducting outreach programs that provide elementary school and secondary school students with opportunities to increase their exposure to the fields of science1 technology1 engineering1 or mathematics4 7#e7 ,programs to increase the recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty4 7#f7 ,such additional programs as the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation may determine4 7e7 ,definitions ,in this ,act-- 7#a7 the term minority means ,american ,indian1 ,alaskan ,native1 ,black 7not of ,hispanic origin71 ,hispanic 7including persons of ,mexican1 ,puerto ,rican1 ,cuban1 and ,central or ,south ,american origin71 ,asian 7including underrepresented subgroups71 ,native ,hawaiian1 ,pacific ,islander origin subgroup1 or other ethnic group underrepresented in science and engineering2 and 7#b7 the term underrepresented in science and engineering means a minority group whose number of scientists and engineers per #aj1jjj population of that group is substantially below the comparable figure for scientists and engineers who are ,white and not of ,hispanic origin1 as determined by the ,secretary of ,education under section #fcg4d7;b7 of title #cd1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations4 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #ae1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbj1 #bjba1 #bjbb1 #bjbc1 and #bjbd4