Changes in the Representation of Women and Minorities in Biomedical Careers

Myers, Samuel L.; Fealing, Kaye Husbands

doi:10.1097/acm.0b013e31826d7189

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Increasing faculty diversity in academic science departments has been a long-standing challenge and has received renewed attention in recent years (Ginther et al, 2016; Ginther et al, 2011; Griffin, 2016; Duehren and Muluk, 2016; Myers et al, 2012). Here, we used data from medical school basic science departments to highlight the impact of potential intervention strategies on the diversity of assistant professors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decoupling of the minority PhD talent pool and assistant professor hiring in medical school basic science departments in the US

Gibbs

Basson

Xierali

et al. 2016

eLife

155

148

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Faculty diversity is a longstanding challenge in the US. However, we lack a quantitative and systemic understanding of how the career transitions into assistant professor positions of PhD scientists from underrepresented minority (URM) and well-represented (WR) racial/ethnic backgrounds compare. Between 1980 and 2013, the number of PhD graduates from URM backgrounds increased by a factor of 9.3, compared with a 2.6-fold increase in the number of PhD graduates from WR groups. However, the number of scientists from URM backgrounds hired as assistant professors in medical school basic science departments was not related to the number of potential candidates (R2=0.12, p>0.07), whereas there was a strong correlation between these two numbers for scientists from WR backgrounds (R2=0.48, p<0.0001). We built and validated a conceptual system dynamics model based on these data that explained 79% of the variance in the hiring of assistant professors and posited no hiring discrimination. Simulations show that, given current transition rates of scientists from URM backgrounds to faculty positions, faculty diversity would not increase significantly through the year 2080 even in the context of an exponential growth in the population of PhD graduates from URM backgrounds, or significant increases in the number of faculty positions. Instead, the simulations showed that diversity increased as more postdoctoral candidates from URM backgrounds transitioned onto the market and were hired.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.21393.001

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decoupling of the minority PhD talent pool and assistant professor hiring in medical school basic science departments in the US

Gibbs

Basson

Xierali

et al. 2016

eLife

155

148

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“…9 When a subgroup’s representation ratio is greater than one, they exhibit greater representation in that educational or career stage compared to the previous stage or relevant labor market in terms of NIH-funded paths. When the ratio is less than one, the subgroup is underrepresented; when the ratio is equal to one, the representation of the subgroup among recipients of the next stage is equal to the subgroup’s representation in the relevant labor market.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pohlhaus et al 12 and Ginther et al 13,14 found disparities in the NIH research award funding system by sex, race, and ethnicity, and an earlier study by Ginther et al also found that underrepresented racial and ethnic groups fall out of the biomedical educational pathway well before they reach the eligible NIH principal investigator (PI) pool. 15 Myers and Husbands-Fealing 9 examined representation of subgroups within biomedicine and found that not all groups benefit from broad diversity policies in the same way. These studies provide a larger context for understanding diversity within the biomedical workforce.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Representation ratios tell us whether a subpopulation is over- or underrepresented compared with its representation in a larger group or at a previous stage along the career path. 8,9 In this article, we clarify the relevant labor market definition, calculate representation ratios along the career pathway, thus improving our understanding of focal points within the NIH biomedical research career path, and suggest areas for potential intervention.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Measuring Diversity of the National Institutes of Health–Funded Workforce

et al. 2016

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Purpose To measure diversity within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded workforce. The authors use a relevant labor market perspective to more directly understand what the NIH can influence in terms of enhancing diversity through NIH policies. Method Using the relevant labor market (defined as those persons with advanced degrees working as biomedical scientists in the United States) as the conceptual framework, and informed by accepted economic principles, the authors used the American Community Survey (ACS) and NIH administrative data to calculate representation ratios of the NIH-funded biomedical workforce from 2008–2012 by race, ethnicity, sex, and citizenship status, and compared this to the pool of characteristic individuals in the potential labor market. Results In general, the U.S. population during this same time period was a poor comparison group to the NIH-funded scientific workforce. Furthermore, the representation of women and traditionally underrepresented groups in NIH-supported postdoc fellowships and traineeships and mentored career development programs was greater than their representation in the relevant labor market. The same analysis found that these demographic groups are less represented in the NIH-funded independent investigator pool. Conclusions While these findings provided a picture of current NIH-funded workforce and a foundation for understanding the federal role in developing, maintaining, and renewing diverse scientific human resources, further study is needed to identify whether junior- and early-stage investigators who are part of more diverse cohorts will naturally transition into independent NIH-funded investigators, or whether they will leave the workforce before achieving independent researcher status.

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“…At the same time, there is significant evidence that students from these groups continue to face challenges within the classroom and training environments (Gibbs and Griffin, 2013; Eddy et al ., 2014; Grunspan et al ., 2016; Lauer et al ., 2016). Women and scientists from URM backgrounds remain underrepresented as principal investigators on research grants, as faculty members, and in senior leadership positions (Myers and Fealing, 2012; National Institutes of Health, 2012; Heggeness et al ., 2016; Plank-Bazinet et al ., 2016). Other groups, such as Asian-American scientists, are often well represented in undergraduate and graduate programs and in junior faculty positions (though there are differences across ethnicity), yet still experience stereotyping and remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions (Maramba et al ., 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

Broadening Participation in the Life Sciences: Current Landscape and Future Directions

Gibbs

Marsteller

2016

LSE

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Changes in the Representation of Women and Minorities in Biomedical Careers

Abstract: The authors have demonstrated that all groups do not benefit equally from diversity initiatives and that competition across related fields can confound efforts to increase diversity in medicine.

Cited by 23 publications

References 21 publications

Decoupling of the minority PhD talent pool and assistant professor hiring in medical school basic science departments in the US

Decoupling of the minority PhD talent pool and assistant professor hiring in medical school basic science departments in the US

Measuring Diversity of the National Institutes of Health–Funded Workforce

Broadening Participation in the Life Sciences: Current Landscape and Future Directions

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