Although there have been efforts made in understanding the factors that promote the retention of women in STEM, these efforts lack insights into the experiences of Black women as they assume the experiences of women in STEM are homogenous. Black Women make up 13.9% of the female workforce, but only 2% of the U.S. STEM workforce, and their experiences regarding the factors that contribute to embedding and retaining this population were generally unknown. Given that Black women's experiences intersect at the axis of race and gender, this seminal research gives voice to their unique experiences in STEM professions.

Join Dr. Margery Sendze as she presents her research findings on the embeddedness experiences of Black women in the Kansas City area who have stayed in STEM professions long-term, to understand why they stay and the factors that could promote their retention.

Margery Sendze, Ph.D. is a technology leader with more than 20 years of delivering business value by enabling high-performing teams. Ms. Sendze currently serves as a technology manager and leverages organizational psychology to drive organizational change and talent engagement and retention strategies in the technology workforce. She holds a B.A and an M.A. in communications and a Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology. Margery is a self-described people champion and an advocate for creating environments that promote the inclusion, participation, and retention of girls/women and people of color in STEM.  Margery is an adjunct faculty at Grand Canyon University. She serves on the KU Edwards Workforce Advisory Board and is an active member of various initiatives in the KC STEM community.