Author ORCID Identifier
Candice M. Etson: 0000-0002-9796-269X
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2025
Publication Title
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Abstract
Despite decades of interventions aiming to transform the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce to be more inclusive and diverse, little progress has been made in creating long-lasting, sustainable change. For a long period of time, the STEM workforce has been described as a leaky pipeline. While there has been some utility to thinking about the STEM workforce in this way, in this article, we discuss how characterizing the STEM workforce as a leaky pipeline can impede the design of innovative interventions that contribute to sustainable change toward a more inclusive scientific enterprise. As an alternative, we join others in proposing the braided river ecosystem model, related social sciences and career development theories as more inclusive ways to think about the STEM workforce and how a target group or an individual navigates their career choices and development as a scientist. New models and paradigms to understand the STEM workforce and individuals’ careers in science may open the door to finding novel strategies to make careers in STEM accessible to all. We present case studies demonstrating the practical applications of these inclusive models.
Volume
36
Issue
3
DOI
10.1091/mbc.E24-09-0416
ISSN
10591524
Rights
© 2025 Alemán-Díaz et al. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s).
Recommended Citation
Alemán-Díaz, Aixa; Hussen, Sakib; Siam, Abdul; Etson, Candice M.; Greenler, Robin Mc C.; Lightner, Taylor; Quiñones-Soto, Semarhy; Soso, Simone B.; and Segarra, Verónica A., "The Adoption of the Braided River Model Toward an Inclusive Stem Workforce for All" (2025). Physics: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/phy_facpubs/112
Comments
Archived as published.