UC Riverside

Efforts to support Latinas’ pathway to STEM fields often consider Latina identities as monolithic. Focus on a single pathway to STEM fields overlooks multidimensionality among Latinas and misses opportunities to meaningfully support the success of all Latinas. By attending to the variation in Latinas, multiple pathways to STEM careers for Latinas can be identified. The purpose of this study is to describe variation among Latinas’ STEM identity in terms of five components (sense of belonging, trailblazing, motivation, persistence, parental support). There was significant missing data to the items selected for analyses, with on average, less than half of the sample responding to each question. Results revealed no variation in survey responses to items related to motivation. Results highlight the need for more robust large scale, nationally representative quantitative data that allows for inferences about minority subgroups such as Latinas.