I'm assuming - trying to plug themselves into the acronym to capitalize on the respect (and jobs) STEM has as "the real deal" as opposed to art fields, and framing that as initiative to bring more people into STEM. It's cynical, I know, but I've heard enough art/design people saying "art and design is important too!" and completely missing the point. No one is saying design or art is not important to humans. It's just STEM fields are different because they deal head-on with objective, observable reality as opposed to incredibly complex internal life of humans.