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Women
Minorities
Minority women
Persons with disabilities
Previous chapters discussed the various populations that feed into the labor
force. This section highlights the growth, by demographic group, of working
scientists and engineers. The number of employed people in the United States
with either S&E degrees or S&E occupations grew from 9.8 million
to 11.0 million from 1993 to 1999. The number of those who are employed in
S&E occupations has grown from 3.3 to 3.5 million over that time period.
(See appendix table 6-1.)
Women
Women constituted 35 percent of employed people with either an S&E degree
or in an S&E occupation and 24 percent of those employed in an S&E
occupation in 1999. (See appendix table 6-1.) Roughly the same proportion of
women were employed in S&E in 1999 as in 1993. Further, women accounted
for approximately the same percentages of physical scientists, life scientists,
social scientists, and engineers in 1993 and 1999. They comprised a slightly
smaller percentage of computer and mathematical scientists in 1999 than in
1993.
Minorities
Asians, blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians combined were 17 percent of
employed persons with either S&E degrees or S&E occupations and 18
percent of those in S&E occupations in the United States in 1999. Asians
made up 11 percent, blacks and Hispanics were each about 3 percent, and American
Indians were less than 0.5 percent of those in S&E occupations in 1999.
(See appendix table 6-1.) The percentage distribution of employed scientists and engineers
by race/ethnicity changed little between 1993 and 1999, with the exception
of a slight increase in the proportion that is Asian and a slight decrease
in the proportion that is white.
Minority women
Seven percent of employed people with either an S&E degree or in an S&E
occupation and 5 percent of those employed in an S&E occupation in 1999
were minority women. (See appendix table
6-2.) More specifically, Asian women
were 3 percent, black and Hispanic women were each 1 percent, and American
Indian women were 0.1 percent of those employed in S&E occupations. Within
every racial/ethnic group, women accounted for a smaller percentage of total
scientists and engineers than did men.
Persons with disabilities
People with disabilities accounted for 7 percent of employed people with either
an S&E degree or in an S&E occupation and 6 percent of those employed
in an S&E occupation in 1999; these were about the same percentages as
in 1993. (See appendix table 6-3.)
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