,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #djbh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #ba1 #bjbd,ms4 ,hirono 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,padilla1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 ,ms4 ,butler1 ,mr4 ,brown1 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 ,underrepresented ,minorities in ,,stem ,booster ,act of #bjbd4 #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 ,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine 7,,nasem71 science1 technology1 engineering1 and math 7referred to in this ,act as ,,stem7 education is critical to ensuring the ,united ,states maintains a diverse and competitive workforce4 7#b7 ,according to ,,nasem and the ,national ,institutes of ,health 7,,nih71 diverse teams of ,,stem professionals innovate at higher rates than teams composed of individuals with similar identities or backgrounds4 7#c7 ,according to the ,national ,science ,foundation 7,,nsf71 in #bjbj women earned only #dc percent of bachelor's degrees in physical and earth sciences1 #bf percent in mathematical and computer sciences1 and #bd percent in engineering4 ,by contrast1 women earned #ff percent of bachelor's degrees in social and behavioral sciences and #fd percent in agricultural and biological sciences4 7#d7 ,according to the ,,nsf1 ,,stem degree programs that are currently underrepresented by women also receive greater ,federal financial support for education and living expenses1 compared with degree programs with disproportionately high female enrollment4 ,thus1 male graduate students receive more ,federal financial support than women4 7#e7 ,according to the ,,nsf1 while ,black or ,african ,americans made up #ad percent of the population of the ,united ,states 7ages #ah-cd years7 in #bjba1 only #i percent of bachelor's degree recipients in science and engineering were awarded to that same racial group4 ,moreover1 while #bb percent of the population of the ,united ,states 7ages #ah-cd7 were ,hispanic or ,latino1 they comprised only #ag percent of science and engineering bachelor's degrees awarded that year4 7#f7 ,according to the ,national ,center for ,education ,statistics 7,,nces71 only #j4c percent of bachelors' degrees and less than #j4b percent of masters and doctoral degrees in ,,stem were awarded to ,american ,indian and ,alaska ,native students from #bjbj through #bjba1 less than half their representation of the total population of the ,united ,states in #bjba4 7#g7 ,according to the ,u4,s4 ,census ,bureau1 from #bjag through #bjba1 less than #e percent of women who worked full-time in the ,united ,states were employed in computer1 engineering1 or science occupations while more than #aj percent of men who worked full-time in the ,united ,states were employed in computer1 engineering1 or science occupations4 ,only #d percent of ,black or ,african ,americans who worked full-time in the ,united ,states were employed in computer1 engineering1 or science occupations and only #e percent of ,american ,indian and ,alaska ,natives who worked full-time in the ,united ,states were employed in computer1 engineering1 or science occupations1 while the national average of the full-time workforce in the ,united ,states who were employed in computer1 engineering1 or science occupations was #h percent4 7#h7 ,according to the ,national ,center for ,science and ,engineering ,statistics 7,,ncses71 women leave ,,stem fields at much higher rates than men4 ,in #bjba1 while #gi percent of women awarded ,,stem degrees in #bjbj were employed in a ,,stem occupation1 only #ec percent of women remained in ,,stem within #e years of earning their highest degree1 and only #dd percent remained after #aj years4 ,by contrast1 #hf percent of men who had earned ,,stem degrees in #bjbj were employed in ,,stem occupations1 #gc percent of men remained in ,,stem within #e years of earning their degree1 and #gj percent of men remained in ,,stem after #aj years4 7#i7 ,according to ,,ncses1 ,,stem retention is even lower for women of color3 in #bjba1 only #ej percent of ,black women and #dd percent of ,hispanic women who received ,,stem degrees in #bjbj were employed in a ,,stem occupation1 compared with #hb percent of white1 non-,hispanic women4 ,less than #cj percent of ,black or ,hispanic women remained in ,,stem after #aj years1 compared with #eb percent of white1 non-,hispanic women4 7#aj7 ,according to ,,ncses1 ,,stem retention rates for ,black or ,hispanic men are higher than for women of any race but lower than white1 non-,hispanic men4 ,in #bjba1 #hg percent of ,black or ,hispanic men who received ,,stem degrees in #bjbj were employed in a ,,stem occupation1 compared with #ic percent of white1 non-,hispanic men4 ,only #ea percent of ,black and #fa percent of ,hispanic men remained in ,,stem after #aj years1 compared with #gd percent of white1 non-,hispanic men4 7#aa7 ,data from the ,u4,s4 ,census ,bureau indicate that certain ,asian ,american1 ,native ,hawaiian and ,pacific ,islander 7,,aanhpi7 subgroups are still underrepresented in ,,stem4 ,from #bjag through #bjba1 while #h percent of workers in the ,united ,states were employed in computing1 engineering1 and science occupations1 less than #h percent of ,cambodian1 ,filipino1 ,hmong1 and ,laotian workers were employed in these occupations4 ,only #d percent of ,native ,hawaiian and other ,pacific ,islander 7,,nhpi7 workers were employed in these occupations4 ,these subgroups are even less represented when compared to ,,aanhpi workers as a whole1 who on average represented #ag percent of the computing1 engineering1 and science workforce of the ,united ,states4 7#ab7 ,also1 according to ,,nces1 ,native ,hawaiian and other ,pacific ,islander 7,,nhpi7 ,,stem degree recipients are underrepresented compared with their overall population 7#j4b percent of all ,u4,s4 individuals74 ,,nhpi students received less than #j4b percent of all bachelor's degrees1 and less than #j4a percent of masters and doctoral degrees1 awarded in ,,stem from #bjbj through #bjba4 7#ac7 ,according to research published by the ,american ,association for the ,advancement of ,science 7,,aaas71 undergraduate students identifying as lesbian1 gay1 bisexual1 or queer 7,,lgbq7 were #g percent less likely to be retained in ,,stem programs compared with their heterosexual counterparts1 despite the fact that ,,lgbq students are #aj percent more likely to participate in undergraduate research experiences1 which is a significant contributor to ,,stem retention absent other factors such as sexual or gender identity1 than their heterosexual counterparts4 7#ad7 ,according to research published by the ,american ,society for ,cell ,biology1 transgender and gender nonconforming undergraduate students1 who represent #a in #ad adults in the ,united ,states aged #ah-bd1 are #aj percent less likely to remain in ,,stem majors than their cisgender counterparts4 7#ae7 ,research published by the ,,aaas also indicates that #bb percent of ,,lgbtq professionals had thought about leaving their ,,stem job1 compared with #ae percent of non-,,lgbtq ,,stem professionals4 ,moreover1 #ab percent of ,,lgbtq professionals planned to leave their ,,stem profession within the next #e years1 compared with #h percent of non-,,lgbtq professionals4 7#af7 ,finally1 according to the ,,nsf1 persons with a disability are underrepresented in the general workforce 7#d percent7 compared with their representation in the general ,u4,s4 population 7#i percent71 and even less represented in the ,,stem workforce 7#c percent74 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 women1 persons underrepresented in science and engineering1 and persons with disabilities 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 #a or more of the following activities designed to increase the participation of women1 persons underrepresented in science and engineering1 or persons with disabilities1 or #b or more of such groups1 in the fields of science1 technology1 engineering1 and mathematics3 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 ,act3 7#a7 ,minority ,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 engineering1 or ,lesbian1 ,gay1 ,bisexual1 ,transgender1 or ,queer 7,,lgbtq71 or gender-nonconforming4 7#b7 ,underrepresented in science and engineering ,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 ,regulations 7or a similar successor regulation74 7#c7 ,person with a disability ,the term person with a disability means an individual with #a or more disability types as defined by the ,u4,s4 ,census ,bureau's ,current ,population ,survey 7,,cps74 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #ae1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbe1 #bjbf1 #bjbg1 #bjbh1 and #bjbi4