Chapter 3: Science & Engineering Indicators

Minorities

Like women, members of the two largest minority groups in the United States--blacks and Hispanics--are underrepresented in the S& E workforce. In contrast, Asians--the third largest minority group--make up a larger share of the S& E workforce than their representation in the total population.

Blacks are underrepresented in many professional specialty occupations. Nowhere is this more evident than in science and engineering. (See appendix table 3-17.) Although blacks comprised about 11 percent of the total U.S. workforce and 8 percent of all those in professional specialty occupations in 1992, only 4 percent of employed engineers and 2.7 percent of the natural scientists were black. (See figure 3-14 and appendix table 3-17.) Their representation in mathematical and computer science occupations was somewhat higher at 7.1 percent. Although some progress has been made over the past decade--e.g., the proportion of black engineers in the workforce rose from 2.6 percent in 1983 to 4 percent in 1992, and the percentage of mathematical and computer scientists increased from 5.2 to 7.1 percent--their representation among natural scientists actually declined, dropping from 3.1 percent to 2.7 percent during this period.

Employment of Hispanics in S& E occupations shows a similar degree of underrepresentation, one that is perhaps even more severe in the case of professional specialty occupations in general. However, Hispanic representation in all three S& E categories--engineering, mathematical and computer science, and natural science--increased between 1983 and 1992.

There are some positive trends. The production of minority engineering graduates has been increasing steadily. Data from the Engineering Workforce Commission show the percentage of bachelors degrees in engineering awarded to

blacks increasing from fewer than 1 percent in 1970 to nearly 4 percent in 1991, and
Hispanic graduates (of domestic institutions) increasing from 1.8 percent in 1973 to 3.6 percent in 1991.

Doctoral statistics in engineering remain an area of concern. Unlike Hispanics, blacks have made almost no progress in the past decade toward increasing their representation among Ph.D.-holding natural scientists and engineers. Blacks earned only 1.3 percent of the doctorates awarded in the natural sciences and engineering in 1990; this was about the same percentage as their proportion in 1980. In contrast, the number of Hispanics earning doctoral degrees more than doubled. The proportion of all doctoral degrees awarded to Hispanics rose from just over 1 percent in 1980 to 2.7 percent in 1990.

Doctoral workforce statistics are similar. Only 1.5 percent of the doctorate-holding natural scientists, and 1.2 percent of the doctoral engineers, working in the United States in 1991 were black. (See text table 3-5.) Hispanics accounted for slightly higher proportions--1.7 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. In contrast, 9.8 percent of doctorate-holding natural scientists and 23 percent of doctorate-holding engineers working in the United States in 1991 were of Asian origin.

The scarcity of black and Hispanic scientists and engineers has made them a much sought-after group of potential employees. Despite the slowdown in recruiting activity in the 1990s, a recent survey revealed that employers consider diversifying their workforces and the availability of minority candidates in technical specialties to be among their major concerns (College Placement Council 1991). Graduating Engineer, a journal that monitors job prospects for minority engineering candidates, determined that minority students have a slight, but definite, edge over their nonminority, male counterparts in competing for engineering jobs (Law 1992).

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