Thousands of gifted individuals including women and underrepresented minorities remain a disproportionally small fraction of those in science technology engineering and math STEM careers Industry as the largest employer category of those with STEM backgrounds stands to benefit considerably from greater inclusion of women and underrepresented minorities in the workforce However nothing short of a game changing environment must be created to harness the talent of those not fully represented in the STEM workforce Advancing Diversity in the US Industrial Science and Engineering Workforce is the summary of a workshop held in May 2012 by the National Academy of Engineering focusing on the needs and challenges facing industry in particular and it is intended to facilitate further discussion and actions to address these complex issues The workshop provided a forum for leaders from industry academia and professional associations to share best practices and innovative approaches to recruiting retaining and advancing women and underrepresented minorities in the scientific and engineering workforce throughout the nation s industries