Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§19017 Research and dissemination to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 163— - RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, COMPETITION, AND INNOVATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE › Part Part C— - Broadening Participation › § 19017

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Director must give competitive, merit-reviewed grants to colleges, nonprofits, or groups of those organizations so they can boost the number of women and underrepresented minorities studying and working in STEM. Grant money must be used for activities like research using certain record-level data (with privacy protections), studies of work-life accommodation and policy effects, mentoring by STEM professionals, hands-on research for college students, and outreach to K–12 students. The Director must also share findings and work with other federal research agencies, professional groups, and colleges to spread and align best practices and work-life policies. Congress authorized $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027 for these efforts.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §19017

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Director shall make awards on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis, to institutions of higher education or non-profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or organizations), to enable such entities to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM studies and careers.

(b)An eligible entity that receives an award under this subsection shall use such award funds to carry out one or more of the following activities designed to increase the participation of women or minorities historically underrepresented in STEM, or both:

(1)Research to analyze the record-level data collected under section 19152 and 19154 of this title, consistent with policies to ensure the privacy of individuals identifiable by such data.

(2)Research to study best practices for work-life accommodation.

(3)Research to study the impact of policies and practices that are implemented or are otherwise consistent with the purposes of this section.

(4)Mentoring programs that facilitate engagement of STEM professionals with students.

(5)Research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields.

(6)Outreach to elementary school and secondary school students to provide opportunities to increase their exposure to STEM fields.

(c)The Director shall carry out dissemination activities consistent with the purposes of this section, including—

(1)collaboration with other Federal research agencies and professional associations to exchange best practices, harmonize work-life accommodation policies and practices, and overcoming common barriers to work-life accommodation; and

(2)collaboration with institutions of higher education in order to clarify and catalyze the adoption of a coherent and consistent set of work-life accommodation policies and practices.

(d)There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 19017

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73