Bipartisan Bill to Promote Women in Aerospace Authored by Esty Passes the House of Representatives and is Sent to the President’s Desk

A Senate amendment to Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty’s (CT-05) bipartisan Women in Aerospace Education Act (H.R. 4254) passed the U.S. House of Representatives by voice vote earlier this afternoon. The Women in Aerospace Education Act first passed the House in December 2017 by a vote of 409 to 17, was amended and passed the Senate by unanimous consent in late September, 2018. The Women in Aerospace Education Act now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.

The bill would encourage universities applying for Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grants, which are designed to cover the cost of STEM-degree seeking students who intend to teach in rural and lower income school districts, to incorporate aerospace programs at the National Laboratories and NASA Centers into their teacher training experience. Noyce fellows will then be able to enter classrooms with first-hand knowledge of the impact aerospace technology has on our lives and share that inspiration with their students.

Esty, along with Rep. Steve Knight (CA-25), introduced the legislation to address the shortage of skilled aerospace workers and encourage more women to participate in the STEM fields. 

“One of our common goals is to inspire more people – and particularly more women – to pursue careers in the sciences, and at this moment, we have a long way to go,” Esty said. “Nearly a fifth of our aerospace engineers are eligible for retirement, and yet women only represent about a quarter of all STEM workers. We need to broaden and deepen our pool of available workers, and that means diversifying our workforce.”

The Women in Aerospace Education Act also directs NASA to encourage the recruitment of women and minority candidates to apply for internships and fellowships at NASA. NASA projects have enormously broad research applications, helping to provide answers to global and local challenges, such as assistance to developing countries, disaster warning and relief, environmental cleanup, and more. Women of all backgrounds can and should be a part of these solutions.