 | This article may lend undue weight to contemporary underrepresentation of minority groups in scientific and mathematical industries in the US.(January 2018) |
An underrepresented group describes a subset of a population that holds a smaller percentage within a significant subgroup than the subset holds in the general population. Specific characteristics of an underrepresented group vary depending on the subgroup being considered.
Underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States include women [1] and some minorities. In the United States, women made up 50% of the college-educated workers in 2010, but only 28% of the science and engineering workers. Other underrepresented groups in science and engineering included African Americans, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Hispanics, who collectively formed 26% of the population, but accounted for only 10% of the science and engineering workers. [2] This 2015 study found that women make up just 26% of the computing workforce and 12% of the engineering workforce; African American, Hispanic, and Native American women are especially underrepresented in these industries. (McBride & McBride, 2018).
Underrepresented groups in computing, a subset of the STEM fields, include Hispanics, and African-Americans. In the United States in 2015, Hispanics were 15% of the population and African-Americans were 13%, but their representation in the workforces of major tech companies in technical positions typically runs less than 5% and 3%, respectively. [3] Similarly, women, providing approximately 50% of the general population, typically comprise less than 20% of the technology and leadership positions in the major technology companies. [3] When it comes to the engineering and computing workforce, which accounts for more than 80% of STEM jobs, women remain dramatically underrepresented, as documented in the American Association of University Women's (AAUW) recent research report Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women's Success in Engineering and Computing (McBride & McBride, 2018). Women were underrepresented as external seminar program speakers and on decision-making committees for faculty promotions, institutional strategy, and graduate student appointment or recruitment. In addition, most institutions did not have policies that promote gender diversity on committees or to encourage women-friendly workplaces. (Beeler, et al., 2019). Women in STEM are more likely to be assigned jobs where there is less recognition compared to men. Surveys show that women spent more hours per week teaching and fewer hours conducting research than men. This meant women had little opportunity for promotions.
In Japan, the ratio of participation of women in the STEM field is very low. According to the survey in 2013, while almost all countries in OECD have about 20% to 40% of women researchers, Japan has 14.6%, which is a relatively low ratio. [4] The ratio of women researchers is the lowest among countries in OECD in every area, including the industry, government, and universities, especially in the industrial areas, there are only 8.1% of women researchers. [4] Although the ratio is slightly increasing, the speed of this increase is relatively low compared to the other countries. [4]
Tokenism is the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial or gender equality within a workplace or educational context. The effort of including a token individual in work or school is usually intended to create the impression of social inclusiveness and diversity.
The School of Engineering is one of the ten schools that comprise Tufts University. The school offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in several engineering disciplines and computer science fields. Along with the School of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the School of Engineering is located on the university's main campus in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. Currently, the engineering school enrolls more than 800 full-time undergraduates and 600 graduate students. The school employs over 100 full-time and part-time faculty members.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of education policy or curriculum choices in schools. It has implications for workforce development, national security concerns, and immigration policy, with regard to admitting foreign students and tech workers.
Historically, women in the United States have been represented at lower rates than men in both science and engineering college programs and careers. Over time, this pattern has led to a significantly higher concentration of male professional engineers compared to women. Additionally, this disparity has led to careers in Education, History, English, Humanities and the like to be seen as “feminine” careers and areas of study. Some Feminist theorists suggest that these social and historical factors have perpetuated women’s low participation rates in engineering over time. Numerous explanations and points of view have been offered to explain women's participation rates in this field. These explanations include beliefs regarding women's lack of interest in science and engineering, their physiological inability to succeed as engineers, and environmental factors in women's childhoods that discourage them from entering science and engineering fields.
The feminization of the workplace is the feminization, or the shift in gender roles and sex roles and the incorporation of women into a group or a profession once dominated by men, as it relates to the workplace. It is a set of social theories seeking to explain occupational gender-related discrepancies.
Women are often under-represented in the academic and professional fields of engineering; however, many women have contributed to the diverse fields of engineering historically and currently. A number of organizations and programs have been created to understand and overcome this tradition of gender disparity. Some have decried this gender gap, saying that it indicates the absence of potential talent. Though the gender gap as a whole is narrowing, there is still a growing gap with minority women compared to their white counterparts. Gender stereotypes, low rates of female engineering students, and engineering culture are factors that contribute to the current situation where men dominate in fields relating to engineering sciences.
Many scholars and policymakers have noted that the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have remained predominantly male with historically low participation among women since the origins of these fields in the 18th century during the Age of Enlightenment.
The Nelson Diversity Surveys (NDS) are a collection of data sets that quantify the representation of women and minorities among professors, by science and engineering discipline, at research universities. They consist of four data sets compiled by Dr. Donna Nelson, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oklahoma during fiscal years (FY) 2002, 2005, 2007, and 2012 through the Diversity in Science Association. These surveys were each complete populations, rather than samples. Consequently, the Surveys quantified characteristics of the faculty which had never been revealed previously, drawing great attention from women and minorities. Furthermore, the Surveys initially came at a time when these underrepresented groups were becoming concerned and vocal about perceived inequities in academia. At the time the surveys were initiated, the MIT Study of 1999, expressing the concerns of women scientists, had just been issued, and underrepresented minority (URM) science faculty noticed URM students increase among PhD recipients without a corresponding increase among recently hired professors. Data sets like the NDS, along with similar research available through the NSF, allowed URM faculty to track the progress of diversity efforts in the STEM fields. As noted by the Women's Institute for Policy Research, progress has been slow for under-represented women in the sciences.
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to increase participation of girls and women in computing. NCWIT was founded in 2004 by Lucinda (Lucy) Sanders, Dr. Telle Whitney, and Dr. Robert (Bobby) Schnabel. NCWIT is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado at the University of Colorado Boulder. Lucy Sanders, who was inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame in 2007, is the current chief executive officer.
African-American women in computer science were among early pioneers in computing in the United States, and there are notable African-American women working in computer science.
The STEM pipeline is a critical infrastructure for fostering the development of future scientists, engineers, and problem solvers. It's the educational and career pathway that guides individuals from early childhood through to advanced research and innovation in STEM-related fields.
Valerie Elaine Taylor is an American computer scientist who is the director of the Mathematics and Computer Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Her research includes topics such as performance analysis, power analysis, and resiliency. She is known for her work on "Prophesy," described as "a database used to collect and analyze data to predict the performance on different applications on parallel systems."
Ashanti Johnson is an American geochemist and chemical oceanographer. She is the first African American to earn a doctoral degree in oceanography from Texas A&M University.
Diversity in computing refers to the representation and inclusion of underrepresented groups, such as women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals, in the field of computing. The computing sector, like other STEM fields, lacks diversity in the United States.
The Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology (CMD-IT) is an American 501(c)(3), non-profit organization of public and private agencies, corporations, and institutions that focuses on supporting the development of an information technology workforce strong in underrepresented groups including African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and People with disabilities. CMD-IT works with key advisors in the IT field and is responsible for the Underrepresented Women in Computing Committee at the annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, one of the world's largest gatherings of Women in Technology.
Gender disparity in computing concerns the disparity between the number of men in the field of computing in relation to the lack of women in the field. Originally, computing was seen as a female occupation. As the field evolved, so too did the demographics, and the gender gap shifted from female dominated to male dominated. The believed need for more diversity and an equal gender gap has led to public policy debates regarding gender equality. Many organizations have sought to create initiatives to bring more women into the field of computing.
Elba E. Serrano is a neuroscientist and biophysicist who holds a position as a Regent's Professor of Biology at New Mexico State University.
Renetta Garrison Tull is an American electrical engineer, global policy strategist, and works to advance diversity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Tull is the inaugural Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at University of California, Davis and a founding Director of the National Science Foundation funded program PROMISE: Alliances for Graduate Education and Professoriate, which aims to increase the number of underrepresented students in STEM. Tull previously served as Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and was also the Director of Graduate and Professional Pipeline Development for the University System of Maryland (USM) where she also served as the co-Principal Investigator and co-director of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. On a global scale, Tull was selected as the keynote speaker for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) event on the Commission on the Status of Women in Engineering Fields, and was the only American and only female finalist for the Global Engineering Deans Council Airbus Diversity Award in 2015.
According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), women and racial minorities are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Scholars, governments, and scientific organizations from around the world have noted a variety of explanations contributing to this lack of racial diversity, including higher levels of discrimination, implicit bias, microaggressions, chilly climate, lack of role models and mentors, and less academic preparation.
less than 9% of the United Kingdom's full-time and part-time professors in science are women
