Counterspaces for women of color in STEM higher education: Marginal and central spaces for persistence and success

Abstract Counterspaces in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are often considered “safe spaces” at the margins for groups outside the mainstream of STEM education. The prevailing culture and structural manifestations in STEM have traditionally privileged norms of success that favor competitive, individualistic, and solitary practices—norms associated with White male scientists. This privilege extends to structures that govern learning and mark progress in STEM education that have marginalized groups that do not reflect the gender, race, or ethnicity conventionally associated with STEM mainstream success, thus necessitating spaces in which the effects of marginalization may be countered.…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: 0909762, 1451341, 1427129, 1240768
• NS
  National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka

  Awards: 1451341, 0909762, 1240768