Structural-Related Gender Biases In STEM

African American women are perceived as invisible and significantly underrepresented in STEM and at all levels of in the educational pipeline (Benjamin, 1997). Moreover, Hess et al., (2013) found that the underrepresentation of women in STEM relates to a range of institutional and structural factors that perpetuates a structural-related gender basis, including unsupportive work environments, their relatively limited access to mentors and sponsors, and employer policies that make it difficult to balance the demands of an intense work schedule with family responsibilities (p. 7).

While this these barriers are prevalent in all areas of academia, it is intensified in areas such as STEM because of the limited number of African American women

These structural impediments are inauspicious; especially for women of color because they face double-discrimination because of their race and gender. In the case of African American women professors in STEM, this is extremely problematic because structural-related gender biases illuminate issues such as support, systemic barriers, other subconscious biases, retention, research, teaching positions and tenure are affected by this negative cultural climate (Benjamin, 1997). These structural-related gender biases continue to perpetuate a system within higher education that continues to marginalize, isolate, stereotype and burden African American women in STEM with a cultural climate that continues to illuminate the glass ceiling and ivory walls within the

However, it is an unwritten rule that in spite of all the knowledge that you may acquire, it is not always about “what” you, but “who” you know. This your professional growth also requires a great deal of social capital, which refers to “who” you know. Baker (2000) says that the “social” aspect sheds light on the size, quality and diversity of your personal and business networks (p. 2). Moreover, it also extends to the network of people who you don’t know and how that indirect relationship is created through social capital as well. While the development of this type of relationship among colleges within higher education should seem like a very frivolous task that should take place naturally, for African American women in STEM fields this is not the case. Despite a popular belief that academia does not contain any gender bias against women, especially African American Women, there are deep seated structural-related gender biases that perpetuate inequality within STEM that diminish the possibility to foster these forms of authentic social capital (Henley,