NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
This work was performed under Department of Navy Contract N00014-93-C-0089 issued by the Office of Naval research under contract authority NR 201-124. However, the content does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Department of the Navy or of the government, and no official endorsement should be inferred.
The United States Government has at least a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license throughout the world for government purposes to publish, translate, reproduce, deliver, perform, and dispose of all or any of this work, and to authorize others so to do.
Copyright 1997 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Additional copies of this report are available from:
Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel
National Research Council
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20418
Printed in the United States of America
COMMITTEE TO STUDY DIVERSITY IN THE SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING WORK FORCE OF THE OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH
Harrison Shull, Chair Member,
National Academy Of Sciences
Linda Cain Director
Office of University and Science Education
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
George Campbell, Jr. President and CEO
NACME, Inc.
Katharine B. Gebbie Director
Physics Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Eve L. Menger Director
Characterization Science & Services Coming, Inc.
Herbert Rabin
Director, Engineering Research Center
Associate Dean, A. J. Clark School of Engr.
University of Maryland College Park
Frank J. Talamantes
Professor of Biology
Sinsheimer Laboratories
University of California, Santa Cruz
Toni Tomacci
Multicultural Diversity Specialist
Director, Human Resources
Matridigm Corporation
Stephen J. Lukasik, Liaison
Committee on Women in Science and Engineering
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Ronald Taylor Director
Naval Studies Board
Marilyn Baker Associate Executive Director
Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel
COMMITTEE ON WOMEN IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Howard Georgi, Co-Chair Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics
Harvard University
Lilian Shiao-Yen Wu, Co-Chair
Thomas J. Watson Research Center IBM Corporation
Harold Amos Maude & Lilian Presley Professor
Emeritus of Molecular Genetic Harvard Medical School
Anita Borg Consultant Engineer
Digital Equipment Corporation
Jane E. Buikstra Professor of Anthropology
University of New Mexico
Deborah Jackson Member,
Technical Staff Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Frances E. Lockwood Vice President
Technical & Product Development Valvoline
Stephen J. Lukasik
Los Angeles, California
Willie Pearson, Jr. Professor of Sociology
Wake Forest University
Edward Roy, Jr. Vice President for Academic Affairs
Trinity University
Susan Solomon Senior Scientist
NOAA
Lois Steele Acting Division Director
Human Resources Systems Development Indian Health Service—Tucson
Julia Weertman Walter P. Murphy Professor
Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Northwestern University
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Linda C. Skidmore Director
OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING PERSONNEL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
M.R.C. Greenwood, Chair Chancellor
University of California, Santa Cruz
David Breneman Dean
Curry School of Education University of Virginia
Nancy Cantor Dean, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies Vice Provost,
Academic Affairs University of Michigan
Carlos Gutierrez Professor of Chemistry
California State University, Los Angeles
Stephen J. Lukasik
Los Angeles, California
Barry Munitz Chancellor
The California State University
Janet Norwood Senior Fellow
The Urban Institute
John D. Wiley Provost Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Tadataka Yamada President
Healthcare Services SmithKline Beecham Corporation
A. Thomas Young
North Potomac, Maryland
William H. Miller, ex-officio
Department of Chemistry University of California, Berkeley
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Charlotte Kuh Executive Director
Marilyn J. Baker Associate Executive Director
NAVAL STUDIES BOARD
David K Heebner, Chair
Science Applications International Corporation (retired)
George M. Whitesides, Vice Chair
Harvard University
Albert J. Baciocco, Jr.
The Baciocco Group, Inc.
Alan Berman
Applied Research Laboratory Pennsylvania State University
Norman E. Betaque
Logistics Management Institute
Norval L. Broome
The Mitre Corporation
Gerald A. Cann
Raytheon Company
Seymour J. Deitchman
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Anthony J. DeMaria
DeMaria ElectroOptics Systems, Inc.
John F. Egan
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Robert Hummel
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences New York University
David W. McCall
AT&T Bell Laboratories (retired)
Robert J. Murray
Center for Naval Analyses
Robert B. Oakley
National Defense University
William J. Phillips
Northstar Associates, Inc.
Mara G. Prentiss
Jefferson Laboratory Harvard University
Herbert Rabin
University of Maryland
Julie JCH Ryan
Booz, Allen and Hamilton
Harrison Shull
Naval Postgraduate School (retired)
Keith A. Smith
Vienna, Virginia
Robert C. Spindel
Applied Physics Laboratory University of Washington
David L. Stanford
Science Applications International Corporation ·
H. Gregory Tornatore
Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins University
J. Pace VanDevender
Prosperity Institute
Vincent Vitto
Lincoln Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Brace Wald
Center for Naval Analyses
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Ronald D. Taylor Director
PREFACE
In late 1994, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) asked the National Research Council (NRC) to provide advice on how to ensure diversity in its future science and engineering work force in order to meet the needs of anticipated naval science and engineering specialties. The NRC Naval Studies Board and the Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel, through its Committee on Women in Science and Engineering, convened a one-day planning meeting to discuss an appropriate response to this request. At that meeting, Dr. Fred Saalfeld, Deputy Chief of Naval Research, suggested that the NRC might examine (1) how to increase diversity within ONR headquarters and thus indirectly within the Navy Laboratories, (2) how to recruit women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to ONR science and technology positions, (3) how to create a work climate in ONR that permits individuals to reach their full professional potential and to enter management ranks, and (4) how ONR's educational programs can be used to help increase the diversity of the long-term national pool of scientists and engineers, as well as those at ONR.
These discussions led to the creation of a two-part study. Task 1 was to identify short-term activities that ONR might undertake to address recruitment, retention and attrition, utilization, and career development of the women, minority, and disabled scientists and engineers in its own science and engineering (hereafter referred to as S&E) work force; to analyze the current work environment; and to identify examples of programs elsewhere that might be used or modified for use at ONR.
Task 2 was intended to address the longer-term pipeline issues and to examine the effectiveness of ONR's educational programs (its "corporate programs") in promoting diversity in the future national S&E work force and at ONR. The committee was asked to review the origins, objectives, and effectiveness of these programs and to determine how they might be modified to help increase the supply and availability of underrepresented scientists and engineers.
While this study is in response to a request from the Office of Naval Research, the issue of how to increase the diversity of a scientific or technical work force is a generic one. The committee believes most of the recommendations contained in this report have applicability to other federal agencies as well, and many apply to universities and industrial organizations trying to increase the diversity of their science and engineering work force.
A few comments on the methodology and scope of the study are in order. The committee met four times to analyze information and to deliberate. In addition, a subcommittee met separately to examine ONR's corporate programs. The former Chief of Naval Research, the Deputy
Chief of Naval Research, the Chair of the ONR Diversity Committee, and the Deputy Director of the Corporate Programs Division all provided briefings.
The committee used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to gather information. Data on the pools of scientists and engineers in the nation's work force potentially eligible for current or future positions at ONR were generated from the 1993 Survey of Doctorate Recipients, the 1990-95 Surveys of Earned Doctorates, and the 1993 National Survey of College Graduates, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other federal agencies. ONR provided extensive data on the demographic, educational, and employment characteristics of the 150 individuals in its S&E group, as well as samples of recent hiring actions.
A consultant to the committee conducted in-depth personal interviews with 71 of the 150 scientists and engineers, 66 of whom also returned a written questionnaire concerning their attitudes towards a number of issues related to diversity. Summaries of the interview results can be found in Appendix C.
The committee has attempted to gather information on successful diversity initiatives in organizations similar to ONR. Although it could not provide a comprehensive overview of such initiatives within the time and budget available, the committee did identify several examples of programs that can be adapted for use at ONR. In reviewing ONR's corporate programs, the committee examined descriptive material, data on participants, and sample program evaluations. It did not conduct an independent evaluation of each program.
Although early discussions with Navy representatives on the scope of the study indicated a desire to address the Navy's scientific work force, subsequent discussions with ONR leadership established that the committee should focus on the scientific and engineering work force in ONR, which consists of approximately 150 professionals housed primarily in its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, who manage Navy research and development funds. These program officers and their managers administer $1.4 billion annually and serve as a principal interface between the Navy and the academic community. Changing this work force can have an impact throughout the Navy's science and engineering community, including ONR's 5,400 principal investigators.
There are nearly 1,500 scientists and engineers who work in the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), but they are primarily practicing scientists and engineers, not managers of research funds. Although their qualifications and backgrounds may be very similar to ONR scientists and engineers, their work activities are not. In consultation with ONR therefore, the committee decided to exclude NRL personnel from the present study, except as a possible pool for recruitment into ONR headquarters. References to ONR in this study are to ONR headquarters only.
For purposes of this report, "diversity" is defined as the presence of a significant number of women, members of underrepresented racial groups, and persons with disabilities throughout the organization. "Significant" presence is determined by the numbers of individuals in each of the above groups eligible for employment in ONR positions. For ease of reference, the phrases "minorities and women," "underrepresented groups," and ''target group(s)'' used in this report all refer
to the three groups above, unless otherwise indicated.
The racial and ethnic groups targeted here are the primary groups that continue to be underrepresented in science and engineering fields: U.S. citizens who are African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians. Asian Americans are not included since in most fields of science and engineering they are not underrepresented. Some issues related to Asian Americans did surface in the interviews with ONR employees, however, and it was clear that their experiences were not the same as whites. The committee recognizes that this categorization does not capture the complexity of the situation. Not all Hispanic subgroups, for example, are underrepresented, while some Asian Americans, like Pacific Islanders, are. Unfortunately, the data sources available to us do not permit a greater level of detail.
The definition of "persons with disabilities" is also complex. For purposes of this report, the definition used by NSF in its national surveys is applied: "individuals who have severe difficulty seeing, hearing, walking and/or lifting or are unable to perform these tasks." While the national surveys do collect data on these individuals, the numbers in any given field are very small.
In describing ONR's current science and engineering work force, the committee has not been able to provide any detailed analysis by race or disability status as there is only one member of a minority group (an African American) in the population of 150, and only three persons with disabilities, according to ONR records. The bulk of the analysis, therefore, focuses on differences by gender. Data tables on the ONR work force are provided in the appendixes wherever possible, but in some cases the data have been omitted or have been presented in aggregate form to avoid the possibility of associating responses with specific individuals.
This page in the original is blank. |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In carrying out this project, the committee has enjoyed sponsorship of both the Naval Studies Board and the Committee for Women in Science and Engineering, located in the NRC Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel (OSEP). The committee also had significant interaction with Rear Admiral Mark Pelaez, former Chief of Naval Research, who sponsored the study; Dr. Fred Saalfeld, Deputy Chief of Naval Research; and the ONR Diversity Committee through Dr. Constance Oliver, its chair. ONR's Office of Human Resources, under the direction of Mary Aylor, was very cooperative in supplying personnel data. In addition, Debra Hughes, Deputy Director of the Corporate Programs Division, provided extensive background information on ONR's educational programs.
The committee is grateful for the hard work and sound advice of Ronald Taylor, Director of the Naval Studies Board, and Marilyn Baker, Associate Executive Director of OSEP, who both entered this effort after it was under way and were instrumental in its completion. It also wishes to thank Karen Bogart, who conducted extensive interviews with ONR personnel; Molla Teclemariam, who provided data analysis and technical support; and Tamae Wong, who collected examples of successful diversity initiatives in other organizations. Pamela Lohof provided administrative support for the project and did an excellent job of editing the final document.
In our world today, it is not enough for us and our students to acknowledge, in an abstract sense, that other kinds of people, with other modes of thought and feeling and action, exist somewhere—unseen, unheard, unvisited, and unknown. We must, in addition, extend ourselves in order to have direct contact with some substantial portion of that larger universe. There must be opportunities to hear different views directly—face to face—from people who believe them and embody them. Much can be learned from reading, from travel, and from formal academic study. But little if anything can substitute for the experience of continued association with others who are different from ourselves, and who challenge us even as we challenge them.
NEIL L. RUDENSTINE
PRESIDENT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
1996
FIGURES
2-1 |
Experienced S&E doctorates by field, gender, race, and disability status |
|||
2-2 |
Physical science doctorates by field, gender, race, and disability status |
|||
2-3 |
Percent female, underrepresented minorities, and disabled S&E doctorates: 1960-89 |
|||
2-4 |
Underrepresented S&E doctorates by sector of employment |
|||
2-5 |
Experienced master's in engineering by field, gender, race, and disability status |
|||
2-6 |
Percent female, underrepresented minorities, and disabled persons with master's in engineering: 1960-89 |
|||
2-7 |
Underrepresented master's in engineering by sector of employment |
|||
2-8 |
Recent doctorates by field, gender, race, and disability status |
|||
2-9 |
Recent doctorates in physical sciences by field, gender, race, and disability status |
|||
2-10 |
Recent master's in engineering by field, gender, and race |
|||
2-11 |
ONR S&E employees by demographic characteristics |
|||
2-12 |
ONR S&E work force year of college entrance |
|||
2-13 |
ONR work force by grade and highest degree earned |
|||
2-14 |
Total and female ONR work force by field |
|||
2-15 |
ONR S&E work force by grade and gender |
|||
2-16 |
ONR start date |
|||
2-17 |
ONR S&E work force by most recent previous employer |
|||
2-18 |
ONR S&E recent hires by start grade and gender |
|||
2-19 |
NRL S&E employees by field, gender, race, and disability status |
|||
2-20 |
NRL S&E employees by grade and gender |
|||
2-21 |
Female principal investigators by sector of employment |
|||
2-22 |
National pool of experienced S&E and ONR doctorate work force by year of college entrance and gender |
TABLES
2-1 |
Distribution of ONR Work Force Across Grades |
|||
2-2 |
ONR Hire Date by Gender |
|||
2-3 |
Percent of Women in the ONR Work Force and National Pools |
|||
2-4 |
Percent of Underrepresented Minorities in the ONR Work Force and National Pools |
|||
2-5 |
Percent of Disabled Persons in the ONR Work Force and National Pools |
APPENDIX A
Series A-L: 1960-89 Graduates (1993)
A-1.1 |
Number of Employed S&E Doctorates, by Field of Doctorate and Demographic Characteristics |
|||
A-1.2 |
Number of Employed Physical Science Doctorates, by Field of Doctorate and Demographic Characteristics |
|||
A-1.3 |
Number of Employed S&E Doctorates, by Year of Doctorate and Demographic Characteristics |
|||
A-1.4 |
Number of Employed S&E Doctorates, by Year of College Entrance |
|||
A-1.5 |
Number of Underrepresented S&E Doctorates, by Field of Doctorate, Sector of Employment, and Carnegie Classification |
|||
A-1.6 |
Number of Underrepresented S&E Doctorates Employed in Academia, by Field of Doctorate and Academic Rank |
|||
A-1.7 |
Responsibilities |
|||
A-1.8 |
Number of Underrepresented S&E Doctorates, by Field of Doctorate and R&D Status |
Series A-2:1960-89 Graduates (1993)
A-2.1 |
Number of Employed Engineers with Master's in Engineering, by Field of Degree and Demographic Characteristics |
|||
A-2.2 |
Number of Employed Engineers with Master's in Engineering, by Year of Graduation and Demographic Characteristics |
|||
A-2.3 |
Number of Underrepresented Engineers with Master's in Engineering, by Field of Degree and Sector of Employment |
A-2.4 |
Number of Underrepresented Engineers with Master's in Engineering, by Field of Degree and Professional Experience |
|||
A-2.5 |
Number of Underrepresented Engineers with Master' s in Engineering, by Field of Degree and Occupation |
|||
A-2.6 |
Number of Underrepresented Engineers with Master's in Engineering, by Field of Degree and R&D Status |
Series A-3:1990-95 Graduates
A-3.1 |
Number of Recent Ph.D. Scientists and Engineers, by Field of Doctorate and Demographic Characteristics |
|||
A-3.2 |
Number of Recent Physical Science Doctorates, by Field of Doctorate and Demographic Characteristics |
|||
A-3.3 |
Number of Underrepresented Recent S&E Doctorates, by Field of Doctorate and Geographic Location of Ph.D. Institution |
|||
A-3.4 |
Number of Underrepresented Recent S&E Doctorates, by Field of Doctorate and Carnegie Classification |
|||
A-3.5 |
Number of Underrepresented Recent S&E Doctorates, by Field of Doctorate and Locus of Institutional Control |
Series A-4:1990-93 Graduates (1993)
A-4.1 |
Number of Engineers with Recent Master's in Engineering, by Field of Degree and Demographic Characteristics |
|||
A-4.2 |
Number of Underrepresented Engineers with Recent Master's in Engineering, by Field of Degree and Geographic Location |
Series A-5:
A-5.1 |
ONR S&E Work Force by Field of Employment, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender |
|||
A-5.2 |
ONR S&E Work Force by Year of College Entrance |
|||
A-5.3 |
ONR S&E Work Force by Highest Degree Earned Grade, and Gender |
|||
A-5.4 |
ONR S&E Work Force by Field of Employment Grade, and Gender |
|||
A-5.5 |
ONR Start Date by Grade and Gender |
|||
A-5.6 |
Target Grade for GS 13 and GS 14 ONR S&E Employees by Gender |
|||
A-5.7 |
Median Salaries of the ONR S&E Program Officers by Grade and Gender |
|||
A-5.8 |
ONR S&E Work Force by the Most Recent and Second Most Recent Previous Employer |
|||
A-5.9 |
ONR Employee Separations (1988-95) by Year, Gender, Race, and Grade |
|||
A-5.10 |
ONR Most Recent Hires (1994-95) by Gender, Field of Employment, Grade at Hire, Most Recent and Second Most Recent Previous Employer |
Series A-6: