Women and underrepresented minorities are more likely to succeed professionally in STEM fields when their institutional cultures are welcoming and set clear, unbiased expectations, a Berkeley-led study has found. The indicators of success for the study included students' rates of publishing and securing postdoctoral and faculty positions. According to assistant psychology professor Aaron Fisher, the study's lead author: "Our study strongly indicates that the onus should not fall on minority students to make changes to succeed in STEM settings. ... Institutional changes that make students feel welcome and provide clear guidelines and standards for performance are optimal ways to ensure the success of all students." The study was conducted by researchers at Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, and Caltech -- institutions which together educate an estimated 10 percent of the nation's underrepresented minority doctoral students in science and engineering. This story originated at Berkeley News.