Equity for women and underrepresented minorities in STEM: Graduate experiences and career plans in chemistry

On June 10, 2020, as part of the Black Lives Matter movement, scientists in the United States and throughout the world paused to consider how systematic racism affects the scientific enterprise. As a result, many academic departments are now assessing policies and practices that may contribute to this situation. This paper provides evidence of the nature of inequities related to race-ethnicity and gender in graduate school experiences and career plans of PhD students in one science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) discipline, chemistry. The results can help promote understanding of the problems and guide efforts toward equity within STEM and, potentially, other academic areas. In turn, these changes can strengthen the scientific enterprise and the well-being of society.