Women, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and some Asian American groups are significantly underrepresented in engineering, based on their proportions in the population at large.
Selected Data for Women, African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans in Engineering. Source: National Academy of Engineering study, “Changing the Conversation”
Women
- Proportion of U.S. population, 2005 (est.): 50.7 percent
- Proportion of students enrolled in degree-granting institutions, 2004: 57.4 percent
- Proportion of bachelor’s degrees in engineering, 2004: 20.5 percent
- Proportion of tenured/tenure-track appointments on U.S. engineering faculties, 2005: 10.6 percent
- Proportion employed as engineers, 2003: 11 percent
African Americans
- Proportion of U.S. population, 2004: 12.8 percent
- Proportion enrolled in degree-granting institutions, 2004: 12.5 percent
- Proportion of bachelor’s degrees in engineering earned, 2004: 5.3 percent
- Proportion of tenured/tenure-track appointments on U.S. engineering faculties, 2005: 2.3 percent
- Proportion employed as engineers, 2003: 3.1 percent
Hispanics
- Proportion of U.S. population, 2004: 14.1 percent
- Proportion enrolled in degree-granting institutions, 2004: 10.5 percent
- Proportion of bachelor’s degrees in engineering, 2004: 7.4 percent
- Proportion of tenured/tenure-track professors on U.S. engineering faculties, 2005: 3.2 percent
- Proportion employed as engineers, 2003: 4.9 percent
Native Americans
- Proportion of U.S. population, 2004: 1 percent
- Proportion enrolled in degree-granting institutions, 2004: 1 percent
- Proportion of bachelor’s degrees in engineering, 2004: 0.6 percent
- Proportion of tenured/tenure-track professors on U.S. engineering faculties, 2005: 0.2 percent
- Proportion employed as engineers, 2003: 0.3 percent
Source: National Academy of Engineering: Changing the Conversation, Table 1-3