Cultivating a Diverse Future Talent Pipeline

Creating Opportunities for Today’s STEM Leaders to Inspire the Leaders of Tomorrow 

The U.S. will need 1 million more STEM professionals over the next decade than it is projected to produce at the current rate.⁴ Although the number of women and underrepresented ethnic groups (UEGs) in science and engineering has grown, these groups still remain underrepresented relative to their overall presence in the workforce and population.⁵ To address these growing concerns, we created our STEM Council to leverage the expertise, experience and passion of our workforce to develop future innovators and expand access to STEM education and programming, especially for UEGs.

We strive to support educators and institutions by strengthening the development of STEM curricula across all stages of our future workforce’s educational journey: 

Middle School

Provide awareness and familiarity with STEM at key educational crossroads. 

High School

Encourage further cultivation of skills and selection of STEM college majors. 

College and Post-College

Develop a pipeline of scientific talent, showcasing career trajectory. 

To help close this projected STEM talent gap within the UEG populations and the industry at large, Bristol Myers Squibb has invested in signature programs to create the scientific leadership for tomorrow that reflects the changing patient demographics, particularly in the U.S.

Partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities to Solve STEM Disparities  

Despite recent advancements, statistics show Black/African American students entering STEM careers continue to struggle to achieve professional opportunities. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) help address this disparity as evidenced by the fact that 20% of the graduates from these institutions receive a STEM-related degree.⁶ Preparing Black/African American students for success in STEM requires resources and guidance they may not have exposure to before college. To help address this gap, BOLD (Black Organization for Leadership and Development, one of our PBRGs) not only engages middle school, high school and university students in STEM mentoring, but also has a continued sponsorship of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC) Bristol Myers Squibb Scholarship Program and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Postgraduate Fellowship. 

Executive Leadership Council Bristol Myers Squibb Scholarship Program

As part of the company’s commitment to HBCUs, we provided scholarship awards in 2020 to 10 high-achieving Black/African American students who demonstrated academic excellence, leadership and a commitment to innovation as they pursue their degrees at HBCUs. More than simply awarding funds to deserving students, we also established a leadership committee with representation across the company, with each member serving as a one-on-one mentor to the students.  

UNCF Ernest E. Just Postgraduate Fellowship Program in the Life Sciences 

Created in 2017, the Ernest E. Just Postgraduate Fellowship Program in the Life Sciences is a partnership between Bristol Myers Squibb and UNCF to accelerate the career development of Black/African American scientists pursuing careers in academic or biopharmaceutical industry research and development. This three-year fellowship awards scientists with a stipend, research budget, travel award for research conferences and access to mentors and professional networks. In 2020, we announced the second cohort of the fellowship as well as an extension of the organization’s innovative partnership through 2026. Recipients Antentor Hinton Jr., Ph.D., and Cornelius Taabauzuing, Ph.D. were selected to continue conducting research on the underlying pathophysiology of Type II diabetes, and the pathogenesis of cancer and autoimmune disorders, respectively.