Championing Institutional Goals: Academic Libraries Supporting Graduate Women in STEM

Academic libraries are well-positioned within their scientific research communities to assist with the retention of women in STEM fields. Librarians have an opportunity to find new ways to match collections and services to student needs and institutional goals by providing resources and programming in support of women in STEM. This paper will focus on the ways in which academic librarians can help support female graduate students in STEM, beginning with a review of the literature to determine the causes for the under-representation of women graduate students in some STEM fields. Next, it will review interventions conducted by institutions to address the uneven distribution, including a scan for resources or services provided by the library. Finally, it will use the findings presented in the literature to propose services and resources that libraries and librarians can provide to help address the issues that contribute to the low number of women in STEM fields.