Attention to issues of inequities in the academic science environment has addressed a range of issues critical to the attraction, retention, and advancement of underrepresented minorities and women. This panel presents new and important empirical research on issues faced by racial minorities, a dramatically underrepresented group in the scientific work force. In particular, it examines the career networks in which underrepresented minorities work and how underrepresented minorities advance within their professions. Drawing on detailed survey and interview data in three separate studies, the panel focuses on the differences in the structure and resources of the professional and career development networks of underrepresented minority scientists, with special attention to the intersection of race and gender. In particular, it addresses these questions: How do the resources and structure of collaborative and career development networks in academic science differ by race and institution? How do underrepresented minority women strategize in career development? How do pathways to employment in STEM fields differ by gender and by race or ethnicity?