Nebraska’s Women in Stem | Listen Then Act

A large and vibrant science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce has a range of benefits for the economic and social well-being of communities; yet, women continue to be underrepresented in these occupations. Nationally, in 2017, women accounted for over half of the college-educated workforce but made up only 29% of those employed in science and engineering occupations, while being overrepresented in STEMrelated fields like healthcare. Nebraska’s STEM workforce is reflective of national trends. In 2019, about 27% of Nebraska women 25 years or older worked in a core STEM occupation, which we can estimate to be about 15,300 women (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019). Women of color are even less represented. In partnership with the Center for Public Affairs Research (CPAR) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), Bio Nebraska and the Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures sponsored an extensive qualitative research initiative to better understand the challenges and opportunities for women working in STEM occupations in Nebraska. In order to hear the lived experiences of women working in STEM, researchers at UNO CPAR conducted 48 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with women working in STEM occupations and residing in Nebraska

Using Garden Cafés to engage community stakeholders in health research.

Science Cafés, informal venues to promote bidirectional dialog, inquiry and learning about science between community members, scientists, healthcare and service providers, hold promise as an innovative tool for healthcare researchers and community members to improve health outcomes, especially among populations with health disparities. However, the process of optimizing science cafés is under-studied. We describe the pilot evaluation of a series of Science Cafés, called Garden Cafés (n = 9), conducted from September 2015 through April 2016 in Olmsted County, MN and Duval County, FL to connect Mayo Clinic researchers and local service providers with the community. Selection of discussion topics was guided by a county health needs assessment, which identified community priorities. Before leaving the events, community participants completed a brief anonymous survey assessing sociodemographics and their knowledge of research benefits, readiness to participate as a partner in health research, and health and science literacy confidence. Of the 112 attendees who responded, 51% were female and 51% were Black. Respondents reported that participating in the event significantly improved (all at p<0.001) their understanding on all three measures. Preliminary findings suggest that Garden Cafés are an effective forum to increase community understanding and disposition to collaborate in health research, especially in members from diverse backgrounds