According to McKinsey and Company, 90% of CEOs report that diversity is a top business priority, yet the dial towards progress has hardly moved in recent years. The representation of women of color in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields has reached a crisis point – only 9.9% of STEM employees are women of color. In this article, we explore the current ‘state of the union’ for women in color in STEM-related fields and the underlying processes within recruitment that may create obstacles to increasing their representation in the workplace.