Has employment of women and minorities in S&E jobs increased?

Women with college degrees remain underrepresented in S&E occupations, although less so than in the past. Except in computer/mathematical sciences, women have increased their proportion in each broad occupational group since the early 1990s.

Racial/ethnic minorities with college degrees have increased their participation in S&E occupations, but whites remain a majority of workers in each of the broad occupational groups.

Compared to their proportions among U.S. residents 20–70 years old, American Indians/Alaska Natives, blacks, and Hispanics are underrepresented among S&E workers, college graduates in general, and S&E highest degree holders.

Compared to their proportions among U.S. residents 20–70 years old, American Indians/Alaska Natives, blacks, and Hispanics are underrepresented among S&E workers, college graduates in general, and S&E highest degree holders.

• Women comprised 28% of all workers in S&E occupations in 2010, up from 23% in 1993.
• Women have made up half or more of all social scientists/psychologists at least since the early 1990s. However, psychology is the only large S&E occupation with substantially more women than men.
• Growth among women has been strongest in the biological and related sciences. Women made up 48% of employed biological/agricultural/environmental life scientists in 2010. The number of women employed in this occupational group more than doubled between 1993 and 2010.
• Although the largest disparity between men and women is in engineering, women increased their presence in the engineering workforce from 9% in 1993 to 13% in 2010.
• Women’s presence among computer/ mathematical scientists declined from 31% to 25% over the period, but only because men’s rate of growth in this area was higher than women’s. The number of women working in computer/mathematical sciences nearly doubled between 1993 and 2010.

• The proportion of S&E jobs filled by whites declined steadily from 84% in 1993 to 70% in 2010.
• Asians are the second largest racial/ethnic group in S&E occupations – 19% of all working scientists and engineers in 2010, double their percentage in 1993 (9%). Asians are strongly concentrated in computer engineering fields.
• Hispanics made up slightly more than 5% of workers in S&E occupations in 2010, blacks a little under 5%, American Indians/Alaska Natives 0.2%, and Native Hawaiians/other Pacific Islanders 0.2%.

• In 2010, Hispanics made up 5% of S&E workers but were 14% of all U.S. residents of working age.
• Blacks were 5% of S&E workers but 12% of the working-age population.
• American Indians/Alaska Natives were 0.2% of S&E workers compared to 0.6% of the working-age population. Native Hawaiians/other Pacific Islanders were also 0.2% of S&E workers, double their 0.1% of the working-age population.
• In contrast, Asians made up 19% of all S&E workers, more than triple their percentage of the working-age population (5%).
• Whites also constituted a larger percentage of S&E workers (70%), S&E degree holders (72%), and college graduates (76%) in 2008 than of all working-age U.S. residents (68%).

• In 2010, Hispanics made up 5% of S&E workers but were 14% of all U.S. residents of working age.
• Blacks were 5% of S&E workers but 12% of the working-age population.
• American Indians/Alaska Natives were 0.2% of S&E workers compared to 0.6% of the working-age population. Native Hawaiians/other Pacific Islanders were also 0.2% of S&E workers, double their 0.1% of the working-age population.
• In contrast, Asians made up 19% of all S&E workers, more than triple their percentage of the working-age population (5%).
• Whites also constituted a larger percentage of S&E workers (70%), S&E degree holders (72%), and college graduates (76%) in 2008 than of all working-age U.S. residents (68%).