2019 report: "Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering" from NSF

[jwf (Justin W. Flory (he/him))]

Hi all,

On March 8th, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the American National Science Foundation published the 2019 edition of their Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering report (mandated by the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act).

The full report contains interesting metrics and data about the participation of several underrepresented groups in technology. The data is also available for downloads in Excel spreadsheets for your own data explorations and uses.

Here is the introduction taken directly from the website:

Women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minority groups—blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and American Indians or Alaska Natives—are underrepresented in science and engineering (S&E). That is, their representation in S&E education and S&E employment is smaller than their representation in the U.S. population.

Although women have reached parity with men among S&E bachelor’s degree recipients—half of S&E bachelor’s degrees were awarded to women in 2016—they are still underrepresented in S&E occupations. Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and American Indians or Alaska Natives have gradually increased their share of S&E degrees, but they remain underrepresented in S&E educational attainment and in the S&E workforce. By contrast, Asians are overrepresented among S&E degree recipients and among employed scientists and engineers.

Underrepresentation and overrepresentation of women and racial or ethnic groups vary by field of study and occupation. Variations in the representation of these groups may be rooted in differences in precollege course taking, participation in S&E higher education, and overall educational attainment.

Women and underrepresented minorities constituted a substantial portion of the U.S. population ages 18–64 years old in 2017. Women were 51.5% of the population; Hispanics or Latinos, 14%; blacks or African Americans, 12%; Asians, 5%; and other racial and ethnic groups combined, 2%.

Read the full report here.