# Step UP for STEM and Health Careers: An Intervention to Reduce STEM related biases towards young women and minorities

> **NIH NIH R41** · RESILIENT GAMES STUDIO, LLC · 2020 · $251,344

## Abstract

Project Abstract
The National Institutes of Health has a stated commitment to diversifying the national scientific
workforce. While diversity has many dimensions, women and underrepresented minorities (i.e.,
black, Latinx, indigenous, and Pacific Islanders) are particularly underrepresented in Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and health careers. Rather than ability,
disparities in career entry for both groups are largely due to differences in motivation and “sense
of belonging,” which have a significant impact on educational success and persistence to build a
career in STEM and health fields. Research shows that adolescents who experience racism at
work or in school have negative outcome expectations for future careers. Experiences with
sexual harassment, in particular, among young women, and STEM-related gender bias uniquely
contribute to lower STEM motivation. The goal of this proposal is to create an interactive digital
resource, Step Up for STEM and Health Careers (STEP UP) that includes the key elements of a
bystander intervention for high school students to acquire the skills, attitudes, and awareness to
mitigate bias and sexual harassment in STEM and health learning environments and attain a
positive STEM identity. STEP UP will be a state-of-the-art, theory-based (Theory of Planned
Behavior) intervention, informed by the Social Cognitive Career Theory with a long-term goal of
increasing representation of women and minorities in STEM and health careers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10080825
- **Project number:** 1R41HD103517-01
- **Recipient organization:** RESILIENT GAMES STUDIO, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** MELISSA L. GILLIAM
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $251,344
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-14 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10080825

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10080825, Step UP for STEM and Health Careers: An Intervention to Reduce STEM related biases towards young women and minorities (1R41HD103517-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10080825. Licensed CC0.

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