Race/ethnicity, gender, and the Intel Westinghouse Science Award: a 16-year descriptive analysis
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Race/ethnicity, gender, and the Intel Westinghouse Science Award: a 16‑year descriptive analysis Nicholas D. Hartlep1 · Kevin Wells2 · Daisy Ball3 Received: 25 May 2020 / Accepted: 7 October 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The model minority stereotype of Asian Americans suggests that they are overrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This article considers 16 years of Intel Westinghouse Science Award finalists (n = 640) data procured online. The data are analyzed to determine whether there are racial/ethnic or gender patterns among the finalists. Social Network Theory informs data analysis and interpretation of results. Findings suggest that homophily, the tendency for people/institutions to interact with similar others, contributes to the demographic patterns of the Intel Westinghouse finalists. Contrary to the expectation that White males from private boarding schools are the most likely to be Intel Westinghouse Science Award finalists, the data indicate that Asian American males who attend public schools are significantly more likely to be finalists. Keywords Homophily · Intel Westinghouse Science Award · Meritocracy · Social Network Theory · Inequality · Sexism · STEM
Introduction A central belief within the “model minority” stereotype discourse is that Asian Americans are smart and become scientists, engineers, and medical doctors (Hartlep 2013). The present study interrogates this characterization through analysis of racial/ethnic and gender data on the Intel Westinghouse Science Awards (commonly referred to as the “Westinghouse Prize”), specifically the occurrence of Asian American finalists for this prestigious award. As Yu and Ng (2004) note: “The popular image of Asian Americans today is favorable. For example, the success of Asian * Nicholas D. Hartlep [email protected] 1
Berea College, Berea, USA
2
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, USA
3
Roanoke College, Salem, USA
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Americans in academic studies is already well known, as they annually win recognition at the high school level as National Merit scholars or Intel Science Talent Search (STS) Competition [formerly Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition] winners” (p. 35). By comparing race/ethnicity, gender, and other factors, such as type of high school a finalist for the Westinghouse Prize attended, conclusions can be made as to whether or not Asian Americans are overrepresented as finalists compared to members of other races/ethnicities, and whether or not males are overrepresented as finalists compared to females. Conclusions can also be made as to whether private/boarding schools are more prone to produce finalists compared to public magnet schools.
What is the Intel Westinghouse Science Award? Created in 1942 by Science Service, one of the most respected non-profit American organizations advancing the cause of science, as a means for encouraging talented high school students to pursue a career in scie
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