The Importance of Diversity in STEM

On the Scientific American Blog, Kenneth (Kenny) Gibbs, Jr., PhD,  a Cancer Prevention Fellow at the NCI, published a commentary entitled: Diversity in STEM: What It Is and Why It Matters. In his post, he lists three features as to why diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is important:

1. Diversity is critical to excellence
   
2. Lack of diversity represents a loss of talent
   
3. Enhancing diversity is key to long-term economic growth and global competitiveness

Dr. Gibbs asks a key question: "What is diversity?" He points out that "...diversity is a property of groups, not individuals" and  "an individual cannot be diverse, but groups of individuals (e.g., the scientific research workforce) can possess diversity." Thus, "when we consider scientific research as group problem-solving, instead of the unveiling of individual brilliance, diversity becomes key to excellence."

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