The need to increase the number of African American women who obtain STEM degrees has been well documented in the literature by researchers, scientists, and policymakers. Increasing the participation of this group of women and other underrepresented groups in STEM is both an issue of social justice and economic advancement on a national scale. Despite decades of efforts to address this need through research and funding, the participation of African American women in STEM is still low. In part, this may be due to the limited number of studies that include the voices of African American women. Drawing upon the theories of cultural border crossing and resiliency, this paper highlights the stories of eight successful African American women who earned a terminal degree in a STEM field. The purpose of the study was to identify and describe the key factors that these women said aided in their persistence and resilience during two key periods: before postsecondary education and during postsecondary education. We use a case study approach to interpret their stories about the obstacles they faced and the strategies they employed to overcome them. Our findings suggest that experiences outside of school are more important than experiences inside school. The paper concludes with a discussion of the finding’s implications and recommendations for African American women’s recruitment and retention in STEM.

研究人员，科学家和政策制定者在文献中充分证明了增加获得STEM学位的非洲裔美国妇女人数的需求。增加妇女和其他代表性不足群体在STEM中的参与，既是社会正义，又是全国范围内经济发展的问题。尽管数十年来一直通过研究和资金来满足这一需求，但非洲裔美国妇女对STEM的参与仍然很低。在某种程度上，这可能是由于包括非裔美国人妇女的声音在内的研究数量有限。本文基于文化跨界和适应力的理论，重点介绍了八名成功获得STEM领域学位的非洲裔美国妇女的故事。高等教育之前和之后。我们使用案例研究方法来解释他们关于他们所面临的障碍以及他们用来克服这些障碍的策略的故事。我们的发现表明，校外经历比校内经历更重要。本文最后讨论了该发现对非裔美国妇女在STEM中的招募和保留的影响和建议。