Trends in the Representation of Women Among US Geoscience Faculty From 1999 to 2020: The Long Road Toward Gender Parity

Ranganathan, Meghana; Lalk, Ellen; Freese, Lyssa M.; Freilich, Mara; Wilcots, Julia; Duffy, Margaret L; Shivamoggi, Rohini

doi:10.1029/2021av000436

Cited by 35 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…We began the study by marking the gender of scientists whom we know personally. When scientists were not known personally, we utilized pronoun information and photographs on personal and professional websites (e.g., Foley et al., 2019; Kalejta & Palmenberg, 2017; Ranganathan et al., 2021), including press releases. In general, website searches resulted in positive identification based on published pronouns.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participation of Women in the Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conferences

Zellner

Rathbun

Martindale

et al. 2022

Earth and Space Science

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participation of Women in the Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conferences

Zellner

Rathbun

Martindale

et al. 2022

Earth and Space Science

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“…A recent sample of geology departments in the United States demonstrated a great gender disparity in faculty in the subdisciplines of paleontology and paleobiology (Ranganathan et al, 2021). Furthermore, of the few female scientists present in geology departments, the majority were white women (the authors were unable to account for whether these women had been 1G or USP students).…”

Section: Early Career Researchers and Doctorate Holdersmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The inclusion of explicit language in the syllabus that invites students to discuss obstacles they are experiencing to their participation in class with their professor is of particular benefit FIGURE 1 | (A) PhDs awarded to paleontologists in the U.S. 1994-2020 (Kang, 2021). (B) Percentage of women in geoscience subdisciplines at 62 U.S. universities (Ranganathan et al, 2021).…”

Section: Inside the Classroommentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the university level, courses that address the history of Earth and it's changing life often draw students from a broad range of majors (often non-STEM majors completing a credit requirement in science). The the widespread appeal of paleontology is not reflected in its researchers, as underrepresented and underserved scientists are lacking at all academic levels (Ranganathan et al, 2021) (Figure 1). This is a problem that requires we look beyond "promoting interest in STEM" as a solution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long-Term Retention of Diverse Paleontologists Requires Increasing Accessibility

2022

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Geoscience encompasses a variety of scientific subdisciplines aimed at exploring, understanding, and predicting global phenomena. Yet despite its global reach, the geosciences are the least diverse of the STEM disciplines. Paleontology, a subdiscipline which prides itself on unearthing the diversity of life, comprises no greater level of diversity among its researchers than geosciences overall. This deficiency is in direct opposition to the level of public interest generated by paleontological research. Paleontology has broad educational appeal and has been leveraged in various ways to promote STEM learning. However, despite this widespread interest, there is an overwhelming decrease in the diversity of participants in paleontology at increasing levels of academia. At each academic career stage, from undergraduate to tenured faculty, the number of underrepresented (URP) and underserved persons (USP) dwindles. Here we highlight and discuss barriers to access experienced by URP and USP researchers that hinder their ability to progress at every level of the academic journey post-K-12, focusing on the track to a tenured professorship. Neglecting to consider the unique barriers faced by URPs and USPs when developing curricula, building programs, and evaluating productivity perpetuates the chronic lack of diversity in paleontology, regardless of individual interest in pursuing a career in the field. We also suggest actionable items for instructors, as well as members of the scientific community in positions of power and policymakers. While the lack of diversity in paleontology is dire, the field is small enough that individuals have the potential to make a meaningful difference.

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On Ranking and Representation in the Geosciences

Ali

Prasad

2021

AGU Advances

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Despite decades of efforts at building equity in the Geosciences, including Earth, Ocean, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, at most US institutions, academic programs still lag in the representation of people with historically excluded identities such as gender, race and ethnicity (e.g., Ranganathan et al., 2021). This is likely due to low recruitment, low retention, and high attrition. These numbers remain extremely low for all marginalized and historically excluded groups, excepting white women. And, not surprising, our observation is that highly ranked geoscience institutions also lag far behind in representation of scientists from historically excluded groups (Figure 1).Highly ranked geoscience institutions, held up as examples of the best in the discipline, are mostly in the United States. According to the US News and World Report in 2019, of the 10 Best Global Universities for Geosciences, eight are in the United States, and two are in Europe. This ranking identifies programs as leaders in their discipline based on "their academic research performance and their global and regional reputation." Ranking affords institutions and programs unparalleled bragging rights, visibility that brings more funding, global publicity, recruiters, and the ability to attract the best and most ambitious prospective students and researchers in the field. This creates a cumulated advantage, the "Mathew effect" (Merton, 1968), for scientists at highly ranked institutions, who get more credit compared to their peers at the lesser-known institutions, even when their work is similar. Regrettably, these ranking criteria do not document institutions' progress in diversity, equity, and inclusion.Although ranking merits are debated, ranking is widely used to decide who is who in academic disciplines, where to educate students, where to donate money, and whom to invite for lectures and for collaborations. Consequently, highly ranked institutions can attract top students, scientists, and more funding that enables them to stay at the top. However, the benefits of high ranking may not be equally experienced by minoritized individuals hired at top institutions, and thus may further disincentivize scholars from groups not equitably represented.

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Trends in the Representation of Women Among US Geoscience Faculty From 1999 to 2020: The Long Road Toward Gender Parity

Cited by 35 publications

References 61 publications

Participation of Women in the Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conferences

Participation of Women in the Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conferences

Long-Term Retention of Diverse Paleontologists Requires Increasing Accessibility

On Ranking and Representation in the Geosciences

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