Policy reform needed to boost numbers of minority female science-faculty members.
Women of colour comprised 5.7% of US science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) academic faculty members with doctorates in 2010, a report says; white men made up 58%. Accelerating Change for Women Faculty of Color in STEM adds that the low numbers and restricted advancement of minority women on STEM faculties limit innovation and role models. It notes that university leadership should value diversity, but women of colour must cut time spent on committee service and mentoring, learn how job duties count towards tenure and pay rises, and welcome help, says Barbara Gault, co-author of the report and vice-president of the non-profit Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington DC.
Related links
Related links
Related links in Nature Research
Rekindling the gender-bias debate
Naturejobs blog: Men more likely to get hired in science
Boston blog: MIT issues recommendations for minority hiring
Related external links
Report: Accelerating Change for Women Faculty of Color in STEM
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Inequalities at work. Nature 504, 179 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7478-179b
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7478-179b