In the United States, the acronym began to be used in education and immigration debates in initiatives to begin to address the perceived lack of qualified candidates for high-tech jobs. It also addresses concern that the subjects are often taught in isolation, instead of as an integrated curriculum.[16] Maintaining a citizenry that is well versed in the STEM fields is a key portion of the public education agenda of the United States.[17] The acronym has been widely used in the immigration debate regarding access to United Stateswork visas for immigrants who are skilled in these fields. This version of the term is accredited to Texas. It has also become commonplace in education discussions as a reference to the shortage of skilled workers and inadequate education in these areas.[18] The term tends not to refer to the non-professional sectors of the fields that remain more invisible such as electronics assembly line work, for example. Nevertheless, it is important to note the role that non-professional sectors of the fields carry in producing knowledge in STEM fields, and to notice that these roles are primarily filled by women and people of color.
Though women nearly comprise half of the US workforce, they've held less than 25% of STEM jobs consistently over the last decade.[50][verification needed] Women and other minorities[clarification needed] account for 75% of college students but earn only 45% of STEM degrees each year.[50] While 12% of women in bachelor programs will get a degree in STEM each year, only 3% go on to work within the STEM field.[50] According to the National Science Foundation, only 5% of Asian women, 5% of African American women and 2% of Hispanic women constitute scientist and engineering labor force in the U.S.[60] While nearly 60% of bachelor's degrees are awarded to graduating women each year, less than 20% are in computer science.[61]
A theory explaining this phenomenon is known as the leaky pipeline, referring to holes in the STEM pipeline through which women and other minorities fall. In addition, there are intersections between gender and race which affect an individual's chance of making it through the pipeline to a career in a STEM field.
 | This is a user sandbox of Tnhastie. A user sandbox is a subpage of the user's user page. It serves as a testing spot and page development space for the user and is not an encyclopedia article. |