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Assignment: Defining a Research Problem and Purpose

Women in STEM Careers

Problem Statement

The problem is that women of colour in Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics careers (STEM) is that they are paid less than males and females of different races

in the same field. According to Magda and Sałach (2021), gender pay gap is influenced by

various factors such as company ownership and local wage policies. For example, the 2014 data

from Poland indicates that foreign owned companies present pay gap 2.7times higher than

domestic companies and women are the most discriminated against (Magda & Sałach, 2021),.

Moreover, Magda and Sałach indicates that even after the adjustment of pay gap in Poland by

foreign companies, they still portray 45%-80% pay gap than polish local companies. The

problem is well-grounded in the current society despite being a total deviation from the normalcy

and equality expected in terms of salaries and remunerations. All workers should be given equal

pay regardless of their gender or occupation.

A six year study involving women from minority groups and students from STEM shows

that gender pay gap has a significant impact on employee output. According to Mastronardi et al.

(2021), gender pay gap influences female students, especially females of colour, on their

decision to pursue further studies in STEM courses. From the 62 students, where 29% of the

were of minority race, 21 students were surveyed on their intentions to join graduate school after

undergraduate studies and only a few (3) were convinced to join graduate school in STEM after

their undergraduate studies. This factor shows that employee productivity will be reduced or

stagnant if they have no motivation to further their skills. The poor output emanates from
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dissatisfied employees negatively affects the revenue collection of the organizations and

institutions where the underpaid women work. The cost spent on training the women is equal to

what is spent on others; hence, they are economically unviable when their output does not tally

with their. Further, White et al. (2021) found that gender pay gap leads to low productivity of

women in clinical psychology, where only 11.2% of the sample of 918, were non-white

accredited psychiatrists in American R1 institutions. This element also shows that they are paid

less compared to their colleagues of the same level of practice.

The problem of pay inequality for women of color in STEM fields compared to men and

women from other races can be regulated through goverbement pay equity policies. According to

Yavorsky et al. (2019), gender pay gap has not be solved since 1990s and even though education

and self-employment increases the probability of closing the gap, the government employment

policies that compels employers to pay everyone based on education, skills and experience

irrespective of their race, can narrow the gap. Since the challenge mostly affect women of colour,

eliminating racial discrimination in by sensitizing employers can also be one of the government

interventions to minimize racial and gender based pay gap.

Purpose for pay equity for women of color in STEM fields

The purpose is to expound on the challenge of low pay among the STEM female of

colour employees compared to their counterparts of other races who get relatively higher

salaries. Doerr et al. (2019) states that human capital difference, absence of standardized pay

scale by some organization and organization variations are some of the factors contributing to

gender pay gap, where men are always on the upper side of earnings. The research shall also aim

at establishing the psychological and physical impact of low pay on the women of color workers.

The less motivated workers portray poor performance, which negatively affects the company's
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output and finance generation (Doerr et al., 2019). This study will focus on women of color in

STEM professions and evaluate possible long and short-term solutions to the challenge of gender

pay gap, especially for women of color. Chancea (2021) states that in Peru and the United States,

a woman of color have lower probabilities of holding leadership or executive positions in higher

learning institutions, where only 4% of the senior positions were held by women of color in

America in 2019 while white women, with the same qualifications held 32.3% of the executive

or leadership positions, leading to significant pay gap between white women and women of

color, discriminating the women of color, who are the minority. Therefore, STEM fields are

mostly affected considering that education should be the most useful tool in eliminating these

gaps.
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References

Chancea, N. L., (2021). Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education. Exploring the

Disparity of Minority Women in Senior Leadership Positions in Higher Education in the

United States and Peru. Fort Hays State University, USA. Volume 13, Issue 3, pp. 206-

225.

Doerr, L. S., Alegria, S., Fealing, K. H., Fitzpatrick, D & Devey, D. T. (2019). Gender Pay Gaps

in U.S. Federal Science Agencies: An Organizational Approach. The University of

Chicago. AJS Volume 125 Number 2: 534–576.

Magda, I., & Sałach, K. (2021). Gender pay gaps in domestic and foreign-owned firms.

Empirical Economics 61:2237–2263.

Mastronardi M., Borrego M., Choe, N., & Hartman, R. (2021). The Impact of Undergraduate

Research Experiences On Participants' Career Decisions. Journal of STEM Education

Volume 22 • Issue 1.

Yavorsky, J. E, Keister, L. A, Qian, Y, & Nau, M. (2019). Women in the One Percent: Gender

Dynamics in Top Income Positions. American Sociological Review, Vol. 84(1) 54–81.