As we advocate for diversity in STEM, we must continue to center on racial justice. The Black Lives Matter movement is addressing the ways in which Black people have been treated unequally throughout history up to the current day. While current protests may be fighting against police brutality, the movement itself is calling for an overhaul of the systems in place that continue to disadvantage Black people.
On social media platforms, the #blm hashtag has allowed for more individuals to highlight their experiences as Black people in every day situations. We’ve seen #shutdownstem, #blackintheivory, #blackbirdersweek, #blackhikersweek, and #blackinastro. We still have quite a ways to go but giving Black people a platform to share their stories and having their colleagues listen and support them is a step in the right direction.
However, with progress comes pushback. As these hashtags trend, we’ve seen other groups try to use the momentum to talk about their own discrimination and disadvantaged status. While we do need to address this, we cannot allow white feminism to take the spotlight from Black people. While diversity and inclusion initiatives are meant to bring more underrepresented groups into STEM, white women continue to benefit the most. As #womeninstem begins to trend, it’s our responsibility to continue centering these conversations on supporting Black people and women of color in these fields.
There is a very prominent need for diversity in STEM — according to the National Science Foundation (NSF), white men make up 49% of all science and engineering jobs. As of 2015, women account for only 28% of STEM occupations. However, white women alone hold 18% of STEM careers while Black people only represent 5% of the STEM field. With white women accounting for the majority of women in science and vastly outnumbering Black people, we cannot allow white feminism to commandeer the diversity in STEM conversations.
Now is not the time for #womeninstem to drown out the movement when white women continue to have immense privilege over Black people and BIPOC as a whole.
STEM Occupations Breakdown
When looking at who scientists are by demographic groups, the need for diversity is readily apparent. White men make up nearly a majority of the STEM field, closely followed by white women.
The breakdown of which STEM careers that underrepresented groups have is also significant. Of the fields where women have a larger presence, these jobs make up only a small percent of overall STEM careers.
Women make up 70% of psychologists; however, psychologists only make up 4% of all STEM careers. Psychology is the predominant field for white (47%), Black (6%), and Hispanic (10%) women in STEM.
Women make up 52% of social scientists, while this field only accounts for 5% of all STEM jobs. Social science has the highest amount of Black people, at 6%.
Following behind are biological/life scientists, where women make up 48% while the field only accounts for 10% of all STEM jobs.
Women make up 44% of mathematical scientists, while this field only accounts for 5% of all STEM jobs.
When science fields begin to have greater representation of women, they are more likely to be judged as “soft” sciences, while fields that continue to be male-dominated are often considered “hard” sciences. As a field becomes more female-dominated, the shift to being a “soft” science begins with public opinion that it’s less difficult than the male-dominated “hard” science fields.
How Have Things Changed?
Between 1995 and 2017, Black people holding science and engineering (S&E) occupations increased from 3.4% to 5.6%. While women went from holding 22% of these positions to 29%, Black women only saw an increase from 1.25% to 2.47%. Although the proportion of Black women in S&E occupations nearly doubled, they still remain incredibly underrepresented even in comparison to other women.
As of 2016, women make up 47% of all employed adults compared to 45% in 1990. While women hold 75% of health-related jobs, they hold only 14% of engineering jobs. From 1990 to 2016, the number of women in the life science fields increased from 34% to 47% and from 22% to 39% in physical sciences, while decreasing from 32% to 25% in computer roles.
While the statistics for Black Americans in STEM fields show a severe lack in diversity, taking a further look at other minority groups shows a huge gap. Hispanic women make up 2% of STEM careers. For American Indian or Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, there are so few women in engineering that the statistics are not available. These women make up 0.02% and 0.03% of STEM careers, respectively.
Between 2009 and 2016, there was a 41.4% increase in the number of degrees and certificates being earned by U.S. citizens. 28.6% more white women were earning degrees and certifications while only 24.3% of Black people were. In 2016, white women alone earned more Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. degrees than both Black men and women. White women also earned the majority Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in 2016 compared to all women.
The average individual in a STEM field will make two-thirds more than those with non-STEM jobs. Even within the same level of education, those working in a STEM field will earn more than those working non-STEM jobs. Black people earned 81% as much as white people in STEM jobs, while only earning 73% as much in non-STEM jobs. Although Black people are able to lessen the pay gap by entering into STEM, accessing these careers is harder. Even with a STEM degree, Black people earn 13% less than their white counterparts.
When it comes to the earnings gap, the common myth of how women make 72 cents to a man’s dollar doesn’t quite hold up – in reality, this only reflects white women’s earning to white men. Black women only make 87% as white women and 62% as white men. For hispanic women, this gap is even greater at 85% of white women and 61% of white men.
The Leaky Pipeline
According to a 2014 American Institutes for Research (AIR) analysis, approximately 1 in 6 STEM Ph.D. holders does not continue to work in the STEM field. Female and black Ph.D. holders were more likely to leave STEM – about 1 in 5.
White women hold 24% of lab leadership roles, while women of color make up 3%. When women do hold leadership positions in labs, they typically have non-STEM related roles that have lower pay and less influence — women make up 36% of these positions. In STEM leadership, there continues to be underrepresentation. While white women hold 22% of STEM leadership roles, women of color only hold 4%, while men of color hold 9%.
We cannot allow ourselves to lose momentum right now — through protests, petitions, voting, and activism, we have been able to see real change but we’re far from done. While our priorities must be to protect and support all people of color and save Black people from being murdered at the hands of the criminal justice system, we should continue looking at all the ways BIPOC have been discriminated against and shut out of opportunities.
While the U.S. population is majority white, according to the 2010 census, representation continues to matter. Right now as we use social media to elevate the voices of Black people and underrepresented minorities, we shouldn’t conflate this with white women. As the #womeninstem hashtag rises up alongside #BlackinAstro and similar topics, we risk erasing people of color yet again.
The 2010 US Census reports that Black people make up 13.4% of the country, Hispanic or Latino people make up 18.5% of the country, and American Indian and Alaska Native people make up 1.3% of the population. There are additional concerns about how many underrepresented minorities were undercounted by the US Census, which has historically underrepresented Black people. It’s estimated that the 2020 Census will continue to undercount Black and Latino people. However, even based on the available demographic information provided by the US Census, they are vastly underrepresented in STEM.
Advocating for diversity and inclusion in STEM without investigating how those practices are serving underrepresented minorities is not acceptable. Since the work of STEM professionals impacts everyone, we should continue to ensure that the people doing this work are aware of the people they affect. Without acknowledging how science, technology, and engineering will impact underrepresented minorities and women, we aren’t actually solving the problem. If we don’t make sure that these communities are contributors — from design to execution — we’ll never have enough understanding of whether we’re working towards the right solutions.
We must do more than lump all diversity statistics together — until we can say these initiatives are supporting all underrepresented minorities and not disproportionately white women, we are not doing enough.