President Biden recently signed the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act into law. It was the culmination of more than a year of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations to craft comprehensive innovation and competition legislation. As we previously reported, the new law includes a historic investment in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and the nation’s pursuit of science and technology leadership. But there’s another aspect of the bill that hasn’t garnered much media attention: it is permeated with provisions to expand opportunities to Americans who have been underrepresented in science and technology.
The CHIPS and Science Act is the most comprehensive effort in history to create opportunities in science and technology for women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups. The new law will advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in science and technology by:
- Creating new research, invention, and entrepreneurial opportunities;
- Authorizing $13 billion for STEM and invention education and providing teachers with the necessary resources to expand STEM;
- Expanding access to the skills and training needed to join the scientific workforce;
- Ensuring that people of color and other underrepresented groups have information about these opportunities;
- Funding research on diversity and inclusion in the tech sector and sexual harassment in STEM fields;
- Making federal agency policy and personnel changes related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including developing caregiver policies for all science agencies and creating a position for a Chief Diversity Officer at the National Science Foundation (NSF)—the nation’s chief science agency; and
- Recognizing the importance of diversity and inclusion in national science and technology strategies.