People Like Me: Providing relatable and realistic role models for underrepresented minorities in STEM to increase their motivation and likelihood of success

Abstract

Despite efforts to increase participation of racial and ethnic minorities (excluding Asians) in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the United States, this group remains underrepresented in these fields. Many efforts to increase minority participation focus on support structures to help this group “get through” the pipeline. However, less attention has been paid to increasing their intrinsic motivation to pursue careers in STEM. Our work is focused on increasing this intrinsic motivation, looking at role models as external influences. Underrepresented minorities are faced with a limited role model pool and in many cases with role models (who we call outliers) whose paths to success and extraordinary achievements are difficult to emulate for the large majority of students. In this study of a representative sample of underrepresented minority students at a predominantly white small private liberal arts university, we show that students are accepting of non-outlier role models who are relatable and embody the qualities typically associated with the existing role models that they value. The evidence suggests that a larger more diverse pool of role models, that represent more feasible paths to success, can be created for this group. We envision a “People Like Me” website based on such a pool as a tool for increasing motivation and persistence of underrepresented minorities in their pursuit of STEM professions.