STEM DIVERSITY

Introduction  In recent months, the fight for diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has taken a sharp legal and political turn. A coalition of states—including New Jersey, New York, and Maryland—has filed lawsuits against the Trump administration over its rollback of federal funding for diversity initiatives and scientific research. These lawsuits challenge recent decisions to cut National Science Foundation (NSF) programs designed to increase representation of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. At the center of the controversy is the claim that the administration's actions violate the spirit—and potentially the letter—of federal commitments to equity in education and research. States argue that the cuts disproportionately harm institutions and researchers serving Black, Latino, Indigenous, and other historically marginalized communities. They also point out the long-term economic and scientific cost of narrowing the STEM pipeline, which t...

Introduction In the global race for innovation and economic leadership, the United States has long relied on its STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) workforce to stay ahead. A critical, yet often misunderstood, part of this workforce is the influx of highly skilled professionals who come to the U.S. through the H-1B visa program. The H-1B visa allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations—primarily in tech, engineering, and medical fields—when there are not enough qualified American workers available. On its surface, this visa program is a win-win: businesses get the talent they need, and skilled individuals from around the world gain career opportunities in one of the most advanced economies. But beneath the surface lies a more complicated truth—one that intersects with the challenges of building homegrown STEM talent, the ethics of global workforce migration, and the long-term vision of America’s place in a diversifying and interdependent worl...