Racial equity in STEM is the primary motivator behind the STEM PUSH Network and is at the center of all we do.
As we seek to support Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students in gaining admission to STEM in higher education, our overarching goal has equity at its core.
To do our work, we had to first consider how to conceptualize “equity” in STEM.
The STEM PUSH Network focuses on naming and framing equity through the lens of race:
- We draw from education scholars Ladson- Billings, Banks, and Kinloch in framing equity as an active approach to ensure that young people, families, and communities have access to humanizing spaces and high-quality educational opportunities.
- We deliberately name resources for learning—including access to high quality, culturally sustaining pre-college STEM programs (PCSPs)—as one way to address/redress historical and contemporary lack of access.
- We point to the lack of access and power within and around STEM resources and spaces that Black, Latinx, and Indigenous youth and their communities often experience as a critical factor in inequity in STEM higher education.
