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Credit: Flickr; Idaho National Labratory
Education Dive
STEM scholarships for women could face more Title IX challenges
Roberto Torres
Aug. 22, 2019
Dive Brief:
A review of some 200 colleges found more than half (57%) offer
scholarships that discriminate on the basis of sex, according to the
nonprofit Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE), a group that
advocates for those accused of sexual assault and domestic violence.
SAVE is considering filing federal complaints against 185 institutions,
the Los Angeles Times reported. It argues that these programs, many of
which are gender-specific awards in STEM fields, discriminate against
men.
However, the National Women's Law Center (NWLC)'s Emily Martin told the
Times that Title IX allows such scholarships to counter longtime
conditions causing one gender's "limited participation" in an
educational program.
Dive Insight:
Industry and academia have poured resources into solving STEM's gender diversity woes, with mixed results.
Although women account for slightly less than half (47%) of the U.S.
workforce, they make up just 25% of information technology workers,
according to a 2018 report from the International Data Corporation. An
even smaller share have computer science (18%) or programming (13%)
degrees.
The issue of gender diversity in STEM speaks to structural issues
within those industries. Key elements include workplace culture, a lack
of representation among senior leadership and the gender pay gap.
That imbalance could persist. For instance, men will likely make up the
majority of the computer science field in 2100 unless a dramatic shift
occurs, according to research from the Allen Institute for Artificial
Intelligence that examined trends in research paper authorship.
A possible challenge from SAVE could blunt colleges' efforts to address those inequities.
Already, institutions are batting back challenges from groups that say their current policies discriminate against men.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights
launched investigations into complaints against women-only scholarships
and organizations at a handful of colleges and universities. Some
institutions are reconsidering their policies in light of the
challenge, NBC reported.
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