The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on May 1 announced new private sector commitments to improve equity in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) ecosystem as part of a STEMM Equity and Excellence 2050 plan unveiled by the STEMM Opportunity Alliance (SOA).
SOA was created in 2022 by OSTP, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Doris Duke Foundation.
At a White House event on May 1, SOA – which counts over 200 members from private industry – made additional commitments to the STEMM equity effort. The White House said those commitments total more than $2 billion.
Those commitments, OSTP said, “will help propel our nation toward a more equitable science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) ecosystem.”
“These commitments build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s national vision and earlier announcements to expand access and opportunity across the science and technology field and bolster America’s global competitiveness,” OSTP said.
SOA member commitments include:
- Actions to “nurture curiosity in every child and increase access to high-quality learning”;
- Actions to promote accountability, track progress, and build systems for cross-sector collaboration;
- Actions to build a STEMM educator workforce that is representative of student demographics;
- Actions to create opportunities for all in higher education and make STEMM programs more accessible and inclusive;
- Actions to leverage diverse minds in R&D; and
- Actions to leverage strategic communications to improve representation of STEMM in entertainment and media.
The new STEMM Equity and Excellence 2050 plan is looking to accomplish key goals and metrics by 2050.
“This co-constructed national strategy was crafted to leverage our country’s talent reservoir,” the strategy reads. “The bold goal is to add 20 million new diverse STEMM professionals to the U.S. workforce across all jobs and sectors by 2050. This vision requires decades of concerted, coordinated action beginning now.”
“To propel STEMM and rise to the challenges of tomorrow, it is imperative that committed actors collaborate across the public and private sectors to foster a new era of equity and inclusion in the American STEMM ecosystem,” the strategy says. “Who leads the scientific and technological advances of today will determine who leads the world tomorrow.”
