Today, the House Science, Space, and Technology adopted an amendment by Congresswoman Moore to a bill (H.R. 144) requiring the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) to create 2-year pilot program to support early career scientists impacted by COVID-19. Her amendment would call for a report assessing the effectiveness of this program including the gender, race, ethnicity and educational background of those who receive a fellowship funded by the program. In response, she released the following statement:

“Marquette and other universities in the District and Wisconsin have told me how the pandemic has hurt their ability to conduct crucial research and disrupted the careers of their budding scientists. And during this pandemic, women have left the workforce in unprecedented numbers, including those in STEM and research fields where women and people of color already lack representation.

We need to be uplifting our most vulnerable professionals in a way that supports and helps them advance in their careers. That’s why I want greater transparency on the impact of the NSF’s pilot program, to ensure it’s giving equal opportunity to those underrepresented in STEM fields, like women and people of color.”

The bill now moves to the full House.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email