STEMM Opportunity Alliance Releases National Strategy at White House Summit to Diversify and Expand STEMM Workforce by 2050

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2024 – On May 1, the STEMM Opportunity Alliance (SOA) announced STEMM Equity and Excellence 2050: A National Strategy for Progress and Prosperity at the 2024 White House Summit on STEMM Equity and Excellence, co-hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The overarching goal of the national strategy is to help 20 million people from historically excluded and marginalized communities enter, contribute to, and thrive in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical (STEMM) fields.

SOA is a nationwide initiative committed to tapping America’s culturally rich, innovative, and diverse talent pool to expand the STEMM workforce. Along with unveiling the national strategy, SOA announced that its partners, which have more than doubled in number since the December 2022 launch (200+), have collectively committed more than $2 billion to realize the vision of the national strategy.

“America’s diversity of thought, derived from our diversity of geography, background, and identity, is one of our nation’s strongest assets,” said Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. “Growing the STEMM workforce to its greatest potential enables us to create a world where every child, regardless of their background, sees participation in STEMM as their birthright.”

Each SOA partner has aligned new or existing commitments and projects under the metrics laid out in the national strategy, all committing to multilateral, cross-sector collaboration to achieve systems-level change. Additionally, SOA announced 10 organizations to serve as anchor partners, with each facilitating working groups within the strategy’s foundations, five pillars, and capstone. The anchor partners will build strong networks, drive toward ambitious and measurable goals, and realign SOA partners’ support, systems, and accountability measures.

The American Institute of Physics is one of SOA’s partners committed to fostering a culture that embraces diversity, advances equity, and promotes inclusion across the physical sciences. AIP champions two initiatives directly related to the SOA pillars, including a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging and Accessibility Strategic Plan and the TEAM-UP Together Initiative.

AIP recently launched a DEIBA Strategic Plan for 2024-29. The plan represents the shared thinking of AIP’s 10 Member Societies, collectively referred to as the Federation, and addresses the continued underrepresentation of marginalized groups in STEMM.

“We envision this plan will be a catalyst to stimulate systemic change in the physical sciences community that can be modeled globally as well as increase the visibility of the DEIBA leadership from the AIP Federation as change agents,” said Jovonni Spinner, Diversity, Equity and Belonging Officer at AIP.

TEAM-UP Together is a collective action initiative established by the American Association of Physics Teachers , American Astronomical Society , American Institute of Physics, American Physical Society , and Society of Physics Students to drive systemic change in the physical sciences community.

A strategic overview of the SOA National Strategy’s foundations, pillars, and capstone includes:

• Foundations: Accountability and Partnership is focused on developing systems and processes for tracking SOA partners’ and national progress toward key success metrics, holding partners accountable for their commitments and building infrastructure for cross-sector coordination and collaboration. Anchor partner: American Institutes for Research
• Pillar 1: Engagement, focused on nurturing curiosity in every child, will work to ensure all schools provide high-quality STEMM coursework and provide children and families equitable access to STEMM learning experiences. Anchor partners: STEM Next and Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM
• Pillar 2: Inspiration, focused on developing skilled and diverse educators, will end the shortage of STEMM pre-K-12 educators and work to diversify the STEMM educator workforce. Anchor partner: Beyond100K
• Pillar 3: Discovery, focused on creating opportunity for all in higher education, will ensure higher education programs are designed to support the talent development of all people and create systems and policies that will support the development and retention of STEMM faculty from historically excluded and marginalized populations. Anchor partners: Oak Ridge Associated Universities and University Innovation Alliance
• Pillar 4: Innovation, focused on leveraging diverse minds in research and development, will ensure researchers from historically excluded and marginalized communities receive equitable opportunities and support and encourage entities across the R&D ecosystem to implement equity. Anchor partners: Morgan State University and Spelman College
• Pillar 5: Opportunity, focused on ensuring all workers thrive, will remove barriers for historically excluded and marginalized communities to enter and succeed in STEMM workplaces and ensure all workplaces feel supportive of historically excluded and marginalized communities. Anchor partner: Jobs for the Future
• Capstone: Strategic Communications will ensure demographics of STEMM professionals depicted in entertainment are consistent with the demographics of the country and effectively illustrate the importance of diverse perspectives in achieving excellence in STEMM. Anchor partner: The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
  

“AIP’s commitment and those of our Member Society partners aligns closely with the goals of the White House-sponsored STEMM Opportunity Alliance,” said Michael Moloney , AIP CEO. “By fostering these partnerships that prioritize our values, we can collectively create a more inclusive and equitable landscape for talent from historically excluded and marginalized groups. This work is essential so that all America’s talent has the opportunity to thrive in the STEMM enterprise. Realizing this future vision is why AIP is proud to be among the founding partners of the STEMM Opportunity Alliance.”

SOA launched in December 2022 at the first White House Summit on STEMM Equity and Excellence with founding partners AAAS and the Doris Duke Foundation. In its first year, SOA engaged more than 1,500 cross-sector leaders and community members around the nation to co-construct the national strategy. SOA hosted 12 in-person convenings across the country, five virtual town hall sessions, and a written comment period to co-develop the strategy, which is rooted in the lived experiences of those doing the important work to achieve greater equity in STEMM.

At the 2024 White House Summit on STEMM Equity and Excellence, leaders in science, government, education, and industry gathered at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to celebrate the national strategy launch, reflect on the co-construction process, and reaffirm commitments for the next phase. The daylong summit also included panels with national leaders, including Arati Prabhakar, director of OSTP and Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and breakout sessions by pillar.

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The STEMM Opportunity Alliance is a national effort by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), with the support from the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF), dedicated to building a STEMM ecosystem rooted in equity, inclusion, and scientific excellence to power progress, innovation and prosperity for all by 2050. This effort brings together organizations and entities from across sectors and scientific communities that are committed to developing and advancing a national strategy for achieving shared goals for equity in STEMM.

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, AIP is a federation that advances the success of our Member Societies and an institute that engages in research and analysis to empower positive change in the physical sciences. The mission of AIP (American Institute of Physics) is to advance, promote, and serve the physical sciences for the benefit of humanity.