Inclusion is Much More Than Access: STEM Capital and Agentic Strategies

The challenge of exclusion of marginalized women in post-secondary Science, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM) is a wicked problem with a multiplex of interconnected factors that support or undermine inclusion. One thing is for sure there is a difference between access and inclusion. Although many underrepresented people have been recruited into STEM and given access to a STEM education, they still experience exclusion in their institutions and programs. In this paper, we focus on STEM capital and the agentic strategies that support the development of STEM capital for women marginalized in postsecondary undergraduate STEM programs. STEM capital is a concept that explains why some people are excluded from getting STEM privileges while those already having STEM privilege receive even more. We analyze STEM capital from an institutional and programmatic level, particularly focusing on the “T” in STEM and the large influence that technology has on STEM capital. We take an anti-deficit perspective in our analysis and explore the potential of agency and agentic strategies. That is, we privilege the strengths that STEM learners bring with them and ask how those strengths can be leveraged to navigate through exclusionary institutional systems and programs.