The 2017 NCES report “Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering” notes that the participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities (WMPD) in science and engineering fields does not match their proportion of the population. While the report provides many reasons to be optimistic. For more than two decades, women have earned about half the bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering, although they overrepresented in some fields (70% of psychology degrees) and underrepresented in others (women are only 18% of computer science degree-holders). It also shows that we have some ways to go to achieve more equal representation. Despite the gains WMPD have made in both education and the workplace, members of all of these groups remain underrepresented in the workforce — white men, who are just below one third of the population, comprise half of the science and engineering workforce.
Tags: diversity • edtech • Engineering • equity • Science • STEM • Technology • women