Diversity in STEM Conferences

The AfroTech Conference is a multi-day experience including the virtual AfroTech World and a series of in-person events in various locations. The digital experience includes multiple programming stages, an Expo Hall with 100+ corporate sponsors and recruiters, networking events, and activations.

The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Region V Conference is one of seven Regional AISES Conferences. Every spring the seven Regional Conferences gather student and professional members to champion each other and expand their knowledge and skills through a wide variety of workshops and sessions. Regional Conferences are typically held at college campuses, hosted by the school’s AISES Chapter. Many professional members participate as mentors and speakers, sharing their expertise and facilitating discussions in areas like engineering, environmental science, or on crossovers between traditional ecological knowledge and western science.

The AISES National Conference is another option to consider.

This biennial Conference and Prize honors two seminal figures who inspired a generation of African American, Latino/Latina, and Native American students to pursue careers in mathematics—David H. Blackwell, the first African-American member of the National Academy of Science, and Richard A. Tapia, winner of the National Medal of Science in 2010. The conference:

• recognizes and showcases mathematical excellence by minority researchers;
• recognizes and disseminates successful efforts to address underrepresentation;
• informs students and mathematicians about career opportunities in mathematics;
• and provides networking opportunities from mathematical researchers at all stages of higher education and career trajectory.

The Tapia Conference is the premier venue to acknowledge, promote and celebrate diversity in computing. The goal of the Tapia Conferences is to bring together undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, researchers, and professionals in computing from all backgrounds and ethnicities to:

• celebrate the diversity that exists in computing;
• connect with others with common backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, and gender so as to create communities that extend beyond the conference;
• obtain advice from and make contacts with computing leaders in academia and industry;
• be inspired by great presentations and conversations with leaders with common backgrounds.

The Conference for African American Researchers in the Mathematical Sciences (CAARMS) is an organization devoted to addressing critical issues involving African-American researchers and graduate students in the mathematical sciences. The organization hosts an annual conference that includes invited speakers, tutorials, and graduate student poster sessions. The conference spotlights the accomplishments of mathematicians from underrepresented minority backgrounds.

The Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Inclusive STEM Ecosystems for Equity & Diversity (ISEED) Programs and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Human Resource Development (HRD), within the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR). The conference is aimed at college and university undergraduate and graduate students who participate in programs funded by the NSF HRD Unit, including underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities. The objectives of the conference are to help undergraduate and graduate students to enhance their science communication skills and to better understand how to prepare for science careers in a global workforce.

The European Astronomical Society (EAS) Annual Meeting (formerly known as EWASS, and earlier JENAM) has more than 25 years of tradition and it has imposed itself as the largest conference for European astronomy. In addition to plenary sessions and the award of prestigious prizes, the conference hosts many symposia held in parallel, as well as special sessions and meetings.

The EAS, often together with one of its affiliated societies, organizes its annual meeting to enhance its links with national communities, broaden connections between individual members, and promote European networks.

Created in 1994 and inspired by the legacy of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, the AnitaB.org flagship event Grace Hopper Celebration brings the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. We support women at all levels of their careers, as well as organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative. To honor Grace Hopper’s legacy and inspire future generations of women in tech, Dr. Anita Borg and Dr. Telle Whitney founded Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) in 1994. The AnitaB.org flagship event brings the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront, and highlights the contributions of women to the tech world.

The Celebration results in collaborative proposals, networking, and mentoring for our attendees. GHC presenters are leaders in their respective fields who recognize the importance of diversity in tech. The Celebration also offers professional development through a variety of activities. Today, GHC is the world’s largest gathering of women technologists, where women from around the world learn, network, and celebrate their achievements.

AnitaB.org co-presents GHC with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

The Great Minds in STEM (GMiS) Conference has long been a premier venue where college students and professionals from all underserved communities can connect with the companies, government agencies and higher education institutions looking to recruit diverse technical talent. Through the ebbs and flows of these unprecedented times, GMiS remains committed to delivering a dynamic and substantive virtual conference experience to meet the STEM-Career Readiness of our students and the STEM-Career Retention of our professionals.

Since 2010, the Inclusion in Science Learning A New Direction (ISLAND) Conference on Disability and STEM has provided a forum to address how persons with disabilities can be more fully integrated into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). This is a space for professionals, students, researchers, access technology developers, parents, and service providers to meet and network for this purpose.

Persons with disabilities are often prohibited from full participation in the STEM subject areas due to misconceptions leading to lack of opportunities in STEM courses. Further, employers and advanced degree programs may be skeptical about the capabilities of a person with a disability and their ability to compete on equal terms with their non-disabled counterparts. Persons with disabilities have to problem solve to overcome their physical and/or cognitive limitations throughout their lives. Therefore, the more methodological and technological innovations that can be designed and disseminated in a forum such as the ISLAND conference serves to promote a community of practice for STEM educators to learn how a more inclusive and equitable STEM learning experience may be made possible.

The ISLAND conference attendees seek to shift the paradigm of science access for all learners.

The Infinite Possibilities Conference was created to educate, empower and create new frontiers by building on the undaunted spirit of women in the mathematical and statistical sciences. Participants represent women at all stages of the pipeline, from high school, college, and graduate students; to postdocs and early career faculty; to senior researchers from academia, industry, and government.

Since 2017, the Latinas in Tech Summit has been an annual conference to bring together influential Latinas working in technology. At the Latinas in Tech Summit, you’ll join over 1,000 Latina techies and tap into the most powerful network for landing tech jobs and growing your tech career.

LatinX in the Mathematical Sciences Conference showcases the achievements of LatinX individuals in the mathematical sciences. The goal of the conference is to encourage LatinX to pursue careers in the mathematical sciences, to promote the advancement of Latinx currently in the discipline, to showcase research being conducted by Latinx at the forefront of their fields, and, finally, to build a community around shared academic interests.

The annual Lesbians Who Tech Pride Summit is hosted by the Lesbians Who Tech & Allies: a community of LGBTQ women, non-binary and trans individuals in and around tech (and the people who support them).

Our Goals:

• To Be More Visible To Each Other

We all know that familiar feeling of meeting someone in a work setting, knowing they’re queer, and trying to work it into a conversation. We’re about making that happen by connecting queer women, non-binary, and trans techies, and by building a network of colleagues and friends in the industry.

• To Be More Visible To Others

We need more examples of queer, female, trans, GNC, and POC leaders. That means we need to come on stage as the amazing, successful people we are.

• To Get More Women, POC, and Queer and Trans People in Technology

Right now, women are some of the most gifted folks in technology. Yet there are far fewer of than there should be: Women account for 1 in 5 people in STEM fields. (That stat is even lower for queer women.) Because there aren’t enough women, trans, and GNC people in tech, they are rarely quoted as experts by the mainstream media and blogs, serve on panels, and serve in high positions at top tech companies.

• To Connect Our Community to Other Organizations and Companies that are Doing Incredible Work

There are so many groups and startups that are fighting for our rights, and they need our support. Lesbians Who Tech & Allies provides a platform to raise awareness of their work, connecting these organizations to queer women, and non-binary and trans people in tech.

The Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence (LSMRCE) Annual Conference is hosted by the LSMRCE for Broadening Participation in STEM, a partnership of Chicago State University (CSU) and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in collaboration with the Ohio State University (OSU) and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), and is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the purpose of powering the relationship with currently funded Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) projects and strengthening the existing partnership with non-LSAMP institutions in the Midwest to broaden the participation and representation of underrepresented minority (URM) groups in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce.

The National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) is a non-profit professional organization in the mathematical sciences with membership open to all persons interested in the mission and purpose of NAM, which is promoting excellence in the mathematical sciences and promoting the mathematical development of all underrepresented minorities.

NAM hosts, among other events, the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) held every Winter.

National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) Conference is a non-profit professional organization dedicated to assisting black and other minority students and professionals in fully realizing their potential in academic, professional, and entrepreneurial pursuits in chemistry, chemical engineering, and allied fields.

With more than 700 chapters and more than 24,000 active members in the U.S. and abroad, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is one of the largest student-governed organizations based in the United States. NSBE, founded in 1975, supports and promotes the aspirations of collegiate and pre-collegiate students and technical professionals in engineering and technology.  NSBE’s mission is “to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.”

The NSBE National Convention is another option to consider.

The NSBP Conference is the largest academic meeting of minority physicists in the United States. The goal of the conference is to provide mentorship opportunities, increase participant access to recruiters, offer networking opportunities and inform the broader physics community on best practices that will be gleaned during and after the meeting. The Conference allows students to have close interactions with professional physicists and gain exposure to high-quality scientific researchers and presentations. In addition to being a meeting that promotes the persistence of underrepresented physics students in the academic workforce pipeline, the conference hosts many high-level research talks, provides opportunities for peer-to-peer interactions and allows students the opportunity for exposure to the scientific community.

oSTEM is a space for LGBTQ+ students and professionals in STEM fields to share their experiences and learn from one another. We have programs ranging from safe spaces to talk about queer issues to discussing the latest in research conducted by our members. If you want a space where you can be your authentic LGBTQ+ self and your authentic STEM self, this is the conference for you.

Out to Innovate™ is a biennial cross-generational summit that provides an educational and supportive environment for career development and enrichment for LGBTQ+ students, academics, and career professionals in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Established in 2010, this has become NOGLSTP’s signature event.

ATHEN is a professional association and network for Access Technology in Higher Education. The purpose of ATHEN is to collect and disseminate best practices in access technology in the higher education environment as well as present a collective voice for the professional practice of access technology in higher education.

The largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event in the country, the SACNAS Conference is a gathering which serves to equip, empower, and energize participants for their academic and professional paths in STEM. Over the course of the event, college-level through professional attendees are immersed in cutting-edge STEM research, professional development sessions, motivational keynote speakers, and the Graduate School & Career Expo Hall, as well as multicultural celebrations and traditions, and an inclusive and welcoming community of peers, mentors, and role models. Simply put, the SACNAS conference is a broadly inclusive space where you are encouraged and empowered to bring your whole self to STEM.

With over 9,000 in attendance and growing, the SHPE National Convention is the largest gathering of Hispanics in STEM every year. The convention is made up of five distinct conferences and has something for everyone: Pre-College, Academic, SHPEtinas, SHPETech, and Professionals in STEM. Beyond the educational workshops there are competitions, networking events, and the popular Career Fair & Graduate School Expo.

Society of Women Engineers (sWE) Annual Conference is the World’s Largest Conference for Women Engineers & Technologists. You can find more information about the 2023 Conference here.