Significant numbers of today's women and underrepresented
minority chemists and chemical engineers (40 percent) say they
were discouraged from pursuing a STEM career (science,
technology, engineering or mathematics) at some point in their
lives, according to a new Bayer Corporation survey. U.S.
colleges are cited by them as the leading place in the American
education system where discouragement happens (60 percent) and
college professors as the individuals most likely responsible
for the discouragement (44 percent). The U.S. K-12 education
system falls short, too. On average, the survey respondents give
it a "D" for the job it does to encourage minorities to study
STEM subjects and a "D+" for girls. The Bayer Facts of Science
Education XIV survey polled 1,226 female, African‑American,
Hispanic and American Indian chemists and chemical engineers
about their childhood, academic and workplace experiences that
play a role in attracting and retaining women and
underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. "If we wan