Chapter 3: Science & Engineering Indicators 93
Special Populations in the S&E Workforce
Employers have begun to recognize the value in having a diversified workforce, one in which women and minorities are represented in proportions that approach their representation in the total population. They are also aware that the majority of new
workforce entrants are women and minorities. Therefore, they are making it a priority to hire more women and minorities to fill white-collar vacancies in their organizations. Meeting their goals for hiring women and minorities has generally proven
difficult, however, (click here for footnote 27) especially in particular occupations. A common complaint among technical recruiters is an inability to find sufficient numbers of women and minorities to fill
S& E positions in their companies. While women and minorities have made great strides in attending college and moving into other professions once dominated almost entirely by white men, e.g., medicine,
law, and business, their participation rates in engineering and some of the physical sciences still lag far behind those of white males (SRS 1992d). Moreover, S& E
pipeline statistics (see chapter 1 and chapter 2) indicate that the number of female and minority physical
scientists and engineers will not be much larger in the foreseeable future.
Footnote 27:
Dupont has been one of the most successful companies in recruiting women and minorities. Dupont's goal--that at least 40 percent of its new (professional and technical) hires should be women and minorities--has been exceeded in most years. The
company has even been successful in recruiting enough women and minorities to meet its 40 percent target in filling S& E jobs (McCormick 1992).
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