Learn from the BEST

BEST (Building Engineering and Science Talent) launched in September 2001 as a public-private partnership to follow through on the September 2000 recommendations of the Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology Development.

The Commission published a report, “Land of Plenty: Diversity as America’s Competitive Edge in Science, Engineering and Technology,” which served as a national call to action to redress the demographic imbalance of the U.S. technical workforce. Currently, women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and persons with disabilities comprise 2/3 of the overall workforce but hold only about 1/4 of the technical jobs that drive innovation. This imbalance threatens the economic future of all Americans.

Learn more here.