Not Recognizing Their Value
There is value in diversity, and women and minorities need to feel confident about what they bring to the industry. A study in the August 2004 issue of Psychological Science by Anthony Lising Antonio and others on college student discussion groups found that students working in a diverse group setting were influenced by the different perspectives of minority participants and demonstrated enhanced complex thought processes as a result. This finding proves to be important for students in STEM fields where they are required to work in groups and where thinking about a problem in new and different ways is key to developing solutions.