Report

Introduction

Overview

The U.S. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce fuels innovation and provides important contributions to the nation. New advancements and discoveries in science and technology are rapidly changing the world of work and increasing the demand for technically skilled employees. As this demand has increased, so has the number of STEM workers. In 2021, 34.9 million people worked in STEM occupations, up from 29.0 million in 2011. Today, nearly a quarter (24%) of the U.S. workforce is employed in STEM occupations.

Representation of different groups based on sex, race or ethnicity, and disability status varies within the STEM workforce, and representation in STEM occupations is uneven relative to the distribution of these groups in the working age population. Women, persons with disabilities, and persons from some racial and ethnic minority groups—Hispanic or Latino, Black or African American, and American Indian or Alaska Native—are underrepresented in the STEM workforce when compared to their share of the total population. In 2021, women made up half (51%) of the total population ages 18 to 74 years and about a third (35%) of those employed in a STEM occupation (figure 1-1). Although 9% of the population had one or more disabilities at that time, 3% of those who work in STEM occupations did. When combined, Hispanics, Blacks, and American Indians or Alaska Natives—collectively referred to as underrepresented minorities—made up 31% of the total population and 24% of STEM workers in 2021.

Women and some racial and ethnic minority groups are also underrepresented in postsecondary science and engineering (S&E) education—which may be indicative of their future participation in the STEM workforce. Women earned approximately half of the S&E degrees at the associate’s and bachelor’s degree levels in 2020, which was similar to their share of the population ages 18 to 34 years (figure 1-2). This age group, referred to here as the college-age population, includes most students completing degrees at the associate through doctoral levels.^{Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) indicate that in fall 2019, 81% of undergraduate students and 71% of graduate students in degree-granting postsecondary institutions were within this age range (NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2021: table 303.50).} Compared with the proportion of women earning associate’s degrees, women accounted for lower shares of advanced S&E degree recipients, earning 46% of S&E master’s degrees and 41% of S&E doctoral degrees in 2020.

Racial and ethnic groups also vary in their representation among S&E degree recipients relative to their share of 18-to-34-year-olds. Compared with their proportions of the college-age population, Whites and Asians account for a disproportionately high share of S&E degree recipients at the bachelor’s level and above, whereas Hispanics, Blacks, and American Indians or Alaska Natives account for a disproportionately low share of these degree recipients. The gap is increasingly pronounced at higher degree levels. Underrepresented minorities collectively accounted for 37% of the college-age population in 2021 and 26% of S&E bachelor’s, 24% of S&E master’s, and 16% of S&E doctoral degree recipients in 2020.

Figure 1-1

Characteristics of the U.S. population ages 18–74, by labor force status: 2021

Data View

(Percent)

AIAN = American Indian or Alaska Native; STEM = science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Note(s):

Civilian noninstitutionalized population plus armed forces living off post or with their families on post. Hispanic or Latino may be any race; race categories exclude Hispanic origin. Other includes Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and more than one race. Respondents can report more than one disability. Those who reported difficulty with one or more functionalities were classified as having a disability. The labor force includes those who are employed and those who are not working but actively seeking work (unemployed). The workforce includes only employed individuals. Due to rounding, percentages may not sum to 100 or subgroup totals.

Source(s):

Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2021.

Figure 1-2

Characteristics of S&E degree recipients, by degree level: 2020

Data View

(Percent)

AIAN = American Indian or Alaska Native; S&E = science and engineering.

Note(s):

Hispanic or Latino may be of any race; race categories exclude Hispanic origin. Other includes Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and more than one race. Race and ethnicity data for S&E degree recipients are available only for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

Source(s):

National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions Survey, 2020. U.S. population data from Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2021.

Purpose of Report

The purpose of this report, Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities 2023, is to provide statistical information about these three groups, all of whom have historically been underrepresented in the S&E enterprise. As mandated by the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (Public Law 96-516), the National Science Foundation through the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) publishes a biennial report to assess the current standing of women, persons from racial or ethnic minority groups, and persons with disabilities in STEM employment and S&E education in relation to other groups. The analyses presented here are relevant to policymakers, program managers, and researchers interested in diversity and representation in the U.S. science and engineering enterprise.

Structure of Report

This report begins by describing the representation of women, persons from underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities in the STEM workforce as a whole and in three types of STEM occupations (S&E, S&E-related, and middle-skill occupations) using data from 2011 and 2021. Analyses of comparative wage and salary earnings and the impact of educational attainment are presented using the survey data from 2021. The section on unemployment rates across these groups highlights the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the differences between 2019 and 2021. The section on the STEM workforce with at least a bachelor’s degree describes the representation of these groups in specific STEM occupations in 2021 and how part-time versus full-time employment varies across the groups.

Two sections of this report focus on S&E education. The section on degrees earned shows the data by broad S&E field from 2011 to 2020, with an emphasis on bachelor’s degree data for underrepresented minority groups. Representation of women among recipients of S&E technologies associate’s degrees, a typical entry point into the skilled technical workforce, is described in a sidebar. The section on enrollment addresses the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on graduate enrollment, exploring differences based on sex, race, and ethnicity. Collectively, these sections provide insight into the likely representation of these groups in the future STEM labor force.

Defining the STEM Workforce, Racial and Ethnic Categories, and Disability Status

When discussing the STEM workforce, this report uses the definition of the STEM labor force as outlined in the Science and Engineering Indicators 2022 report The STEM Labor Force of Today: Scientists, Engineers, and Skilled Technical Workforce (NSB, NSF 2021) and the infographic Workforce Statistics (NCSES 2022). This new definition of the STEM labor force includes workers in S&E, S&E-related, and middle-skill occupations (see sidebar The STEM Workforce of the United States and the “Glossary” section for definitions).

The STEM Workforce of the United States

The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is made up of individuals at all education levels who work in a wide variety of occupations. This workforce is defined by broad occupation type—science and engineering (S&E), S&E-related, and middle-skill occupations—and by educational attainment—either having at least a bachelor’s degree or not.

S&E occupations typically require a bachelor’s degree for entry and are broadly composed of workers who are computer and mathematical scientists; biological, agricultural, and environmental life scientists; physical scientists; social scientists; and engineers.

S&E-related occupations require STEM skills and expertise, but they do not fall into the five main S&E occupational categories listed above. The main occupational categories and positions that make up this group include health care workers, S&E managers, S&E precollege teachers, and technologists and technicians.

Middle-skill occupations require considerable STEM skills and expertise but do not typically require a bachelor’s degree for entry. These positions are primarily in the areas of construction trades, installation, maintenance, and production.

STEM workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher and those without such a degree are employed in all three broad occupation types (figure 1-A). However, their distribution tends to reflect the degree or training requirements of the occupations in each broad group. S&E occupations often require advanced education, so most of those workers have at least a bachelor’s degree (82%). In contrast, middle-skill occupations tend to require certification, licensing, or on-the-job training and thus have a high percentage of workers without a bachelor’s degree (85%).

Grouping STEM workers by educational attainment creates two workforce groups. The STEM workforce with at least a bachelor’s degree includes individuals who have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher and who work in S&E, S&E-related, or middle-skill occupations. These workers include engineers; software developers; physicians; registered nurses; industrial production managers; and farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers.

The STEM workforce without a bachelor’s degree, referred to as the skilled technical workforce, is comprised of workers in S&E, S&E-related, and middle-skill occupations that require a high-level of knowledge in a technical domain but do not require a bachelor’s degree. These workers hold positions such as computer support specialists, industrial engineers, licensed nurses, pharmacy technicians, carpenters, and electricians.

Figure 1-A

STEM workforce ages 18–74, by education: 2021

Data View

(Percent)

S&E = science and engineering; STEM = science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Note(s):

Civilian noninstitutionalized population plus armed forces living off post or with their families on post.

Source(s):

Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2021.

For more information about the STEM workforce, see the infographic Workforce Statistics* and the Science and Engineering Indicators 2022 report The STEM Labor Force of Today: Scientists, Engineers, and Skilled Technical Workers.^†

* National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). 2022. Workforce Statistics. Infographic NCSES 22-203. Alexandria, VA. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/136/assets/0/files/ncses_workforcestatistics_onepager.pdf.

^†National Science Board, National Science Foundation (NSB, NSF). 2021. The STEM Labor Force of Today: Scientists, Engineers and Skilled Technical Workers. Science and Engineering Indicators 2022. NSB-2021-2. Alexandria, VA. Available at https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20212.

Where possible, data for all three underrepresented minority groups—Hispanics, Blacks, and American Indians or Alaska Natives—are presented separately. However, the group of American Indians or Alaska Natives had a sample size that was too small to produce statistically reliable estimates in some cases, and those data are not shown. The sidebar Defining Race and Ethnicity provides details about how racial and ethnic groups are defined by the data sources used in this report.

Defining Race and Ethnicity

Current Population Survey

The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) uses two separate questions to ask respondents about their race and Hispanic origin. With respect to race, a respondent can be White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or a combination of two or more of these groups. To determine Hispanic origin, respondents were asked, Are you Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino? A respondent’s ethnicity can be Hispanic or not Hispanic, regardless of race.

CPS data on race and Hispanic origin were combined to create the six nonoverlapping racial and ethnic groups used in this report:

Hispanic: Hispanic, any race
White: single race only, not Hispanic
Black: single race only, not Hispanic
American Indian or Alaska Native: single race only, not Hispanic
Asian: single race only, not Hispanic
Other: Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, single race only, not Hispanic; more than one race, not Hispanic

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

For this report, data on race and ethnicity from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) were combined to align with the categories used in the CPS. The CPS collects data on race and ethnicity for all survey respondents, regardless of citizenship status. By comparison, the race and ethnicity data in IPEDS are available only for U.S. citizens and permanent residents; these details are not available for temporary residents. All race and ethnicity comparisons in this report that use IPEDS degree award data are limited to U.S. citizens and permanent residents with reported race and ethnicity.

Surveys from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

Data on race and ethnicity from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics’ (NCSES’s) Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS) are collected similarly to those in IPEDS and were aligned to match CPS data. All race and ethnicity comparisons in this report that use GSS data are limited to U.S. citizens and permanent residents with reported race and ethnicity.

For the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) and the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR), both surveys from NCSES, the racial and ethnic groups correspond to those used in the CPS. All race and ethnicity comparisons in this report that use NSCG and SDR data include U.S. citizens, foreign citizens on permanent visas, and individuals on temporary visas.

The data sources used in this report estimate the number of persons with at least one disability in two different ways (see sidebar Defining Persons with at Least One Disability). The Current Population Survey (CPS) uses a set of six yes-or-no questions to assess disability. The NCSES surveys, including the National Survey of College Graduates, the Survey of Earned Doctorates, and the Survey of Doctoral Recipients, use a set of five scale questions to determine functional limitations. Although the two different classification criteria for disability measure the same broad concept, caution should be taken when comparing the estimates derived from the CPS and NCSES sources.

Defining Persons with at Least One Disability

The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) uses a series of yes-or-no questions to ask about six disability types: hearing difficulty, vision difficulty, cognitive difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, and independent living difficulty. The questions include the following:

Do you have difficulty dressing or bathing?
Are you deaf or do you have serious difficulty hearing?
Are you blind or do you have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?
Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping?
Do you have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs?
Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?

Respondents who report having any one of the six disability types are considered to have a disability.

For more information about how disability data are collected from the CPS, see Guidance for Disability Data Users and How Disability Data Are Collected from the Current Population Survey.

The six-item set of questions used on the CPS is one way to gauge disability. This report also presents disability data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) surveys: the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED), and the Survey of Doctoral Recipients (SDR). These NCSES surveys assess functional limitations by asking respondents to indicate the usual degree of difficulty they have with the following five activities:

Seeing words or letters in ordinary newsprint (with glasses or contact lenses, if you usually wear them)
Hearing what is normally said in conversation with another person (with a hearing aid, if you usually use one)
Walking without human or mechanical assistance or using stairs
Lifting or carrying something as heavy as 10 pounds, such as a bag of groceries
Concentrating, remembering, or making decisions because of physical, mental, or emotional condition

To allow for consistent use of the data on disabilities across multiple data sources, this report considered an individual with a disability to have answered yes to any of the six CPS disability questions or to have responded with “moderate,” “severe,” or “unable to do” degree of difficulty to the activities listed on the NCSES surveys. Despite this attempt to provide comparable definitions, caution should be used when comparing the data on disabilities presented from CPS and NCSES sources.

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