pursuing doctoral degrees. To help guard against theeffects of confirmation bias, we worked to identify our assumptions. Through the processes ofEMPOWERING STEM PERSISTENCE AMONG GRADUATE WOMEN 10weekly self-reflection, personal memos, and group discussions, we considered how to managethe influence of our privilege, identities, and perspectives in the research process. Results A total of four themes were identified to summarize participants’ suggestions andrecommendations to women and WoC who might be considering discontinuing their STEMdoctoral programs, described below. Quotes from (de-identified) participants are utilized tofurther illustrate
all years among respondents, males were slightly underrepresented and femaleswere slightly overrepresented, and respondents had somewhat higher grades than was averagefor the college. Underrepresented minority 2 students (includes domestic African American,Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Native Hawaiian, SE Asian or Pacific Islander) were slightlyunderrepresented in 2008 and 2019 but participated at representation equal to their enrollment in2 In some cases we will use the terms “underrepresented minority students” in this manuscript because that was theterminology utilized at the time of the research study and is reflected in collected data variable names. However, werecognize that this terminology implies responsibility on the part of the