1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Women and Minorities in STEM Booster Act of 2017 . 2. Grant program to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in stem fields (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) According to the National Academy of Sciences, STEM education at the undergraduate level is vital to developing a workforce that will allow the United States to remain the leader in the 21st century global economy. (2) According to the 2013 American Community Survey Report on disparities in STEM employment, women comprise about half of the United States workforce but only make up 26 percent of STEM workers. (3) According to the National Center of Education Statistics, women were more likely than men to switch out of STEM majors—32 percent vs. 26 percent. (4) According to the 2010 Association of American University Women report Why So Few? approximately 52 percent of women in STEM fields quit their jobs about 10 years into their careers. It is important for gender equality to increase the retention of women in STEM fields, as women in STEM careers earn 33 percent more than those in non-STEM jobs, and have a smaller wage gap relative to men. (5) According to recent Census Bureau projections, minorities will account for 57 percent of the United States population by 2060. According to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc., as the United States works to remain competitive in the world of technological innovation, the United States should address the need to increase the number of individuals from underrepresented minority segments of the population who work in engineering. (6) The Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that, while freshmen from underrepresented minority groups express an interest in pursuing a STEM undergraduate degree at the same rate as all other freshmen, only 22.1 percent of Latino students, 18.4 percent of African-American students, and 18.8 percent of Native American students