African American Women in STEM: Examining the Impact of Social and Cultural Capital on Resiliency

• In Event: Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: Girls and Women: Forward and Upward in STEM Education

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify and describe the key factors that successful African American women say influenced their persistence and resiliency in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields at the K-12 and post-secondary educational levels. The low number of African American women earning terminal degrees in STEM is a national issue. Using a case study approach, the following constructs in the literature, social capital, cultural capital, cultural border crossing, and resiliency, were explored. The findings provide a detailed analysis of the factors eight successful women say affected their resilience in STEM and the role social and cultural capital played in their lives. Implications for recruitment and retention of African American women are discussed.

Authors

• Danielle Ferguson, Morgan State University

• Catherine Martin-Dunlop, Morgan State University