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Study Shows Gaps in How STEM Organizations Collect Demographic Information

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Demographic information about members and conference attendees can help professional societies in STEM to better direct resources for recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups. A new survey shows gaps in how societies collect such information. (Getty Images)

Professional organizations in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields could more effectively collect data on underrepresented groups in their fields, according to a new survey published March 31 in Science. With more robust information, STEM organizations could better target efforts to recruit and retain a more diverse membership.

鈥淲e want to start a conversation among STEM organizations,鈥 said Nicholas Burnett, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior at the University of California, Davis. 鈥淭he ultimate goal is to increase representation of these groups, and you can鈥檛 do that without knowing where to target resources.鈥

Burnett鈥檚 co-authors on the study are: Alyssa Hernandez, Harvard University; Emily King, UC Berkeley; Richelle Tanner, Chapman University; and Kathryn Wilsterman, University of Montana, Missoula.

The researchers surveyed 164 U.S.-based STEM organizations, drawn mostly from a list of societies affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The organizations were asked about the kinds of demographic information they collected on their members and conference attendees, and how they put it to use. Survey results were not associated with any particular organization, and the researchers did not ask for actual demographic information from the respondents: only what categories of information were collected.

Seventy-three organizations responded to the survey, representing over 700,000 constituents in a range of fields from life sciences and physical sciences to mathematics and technology.

While most organizations (80%) collected some demographic data, exactly what they collected varied. Many organizations followed the kind of breakdown used by federal agencies, offering a number of options for 鈥渞ace and ethnicity鈥 but also lumping together several disparate groups under one category (such as 鈥淎sian American and Pacific Islander鈥). 

Gaps in data

Some groups were widely ignored. While 60% of respondents were collecting at least some information on 鈥済ender identity鈥 and 鈥渞ace and ethnicity,鈥 for example, just 15% collected data on 鈥渄isability status鈥 and 鈥渟exual orientation.鈥 The omission of these groups is surprising given the well-documented discrimination against and underrepresentation of these groups in STEM, the authors wrote.

The researchers suggested several models for guiding survey design. STEM organizations might seek to benchmark their own surveys against nationally collected data, for example from the National Science Foundation鈥檚 Survey of Earned Doctorates, the U.S. Census Bureau鈥檚 American Community Survey, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention鈥檚 National Health Interview Survey. But these surveys also vary in the categories of information collected. For example, the NSF survey uses a single 鈥淎sian鈥 category while the Census Bureau鈥檚 survey and the National Health Interview Survey recognize seven distinct Asian identities.

The National Health Interview Survey did better than most in splitting out groups that are normally lumped together, Burnett said, but it still does not collect enough information on gender identity.

鈥淥rganizations are stuck between following their federal funders, or responding to the social climate and collecting more accurate information,鈥 Burnett said.  

Most respondents (87.5%) said they were collecting demographic data for some specific purpose, with the most common being 鈥渕onitoring鈥 and 鈥渞esource planning.鈥

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of shocking that some organizations are collecting data but aren鈥檛 doing anything with it,鈥 Burnett said.

The researchers hope that the study will provoke discussion in the STEM community, further research and action.

鈥淢any organizations were genuinely interested in our study and want to do better,鈥 Burnett said.

Media Resources

Media Contacts:

  • Nicholas Burnett, Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, npburnett@ucdavis.edu
  • Andy Fell, News and Media Relations, 530-304-8888, ahfell@ucdavis.edu

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