Who are the Speech-Language Pathologists of the Future? Results of a national demographic survey of Canadian SLP Students

Abstract

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are experts in communication and swallowing who work with individuals across the lifespan. Prior demographic surveys in English-speaking countries (e.g., Canada and the United States) suggest that SLPs gender, racial, linguistic, and cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds may not be aligned with those of their clientele. The aim of this study is to describe the demographic characteristics of current SLP students, to gauge whether the demographic composition of future clinicians is changing and is aligned with the population they are trained to serve. We designed an anonymous online survey, in the Canadian context, that enabled us to compare current SLP student demographics with statistics available about the target population at large. This survey was disseminated to all SLP students enrolled in an accredited institution in 2024. Participants answered questions about their age, sex and gender, linguistic, racial and cultural identities, and socioeconomic status. More than half (N=525, 53%) of currently enrolled SLP students completed the survey. Results indicate that SLP students are overwhelmingly cisgender females. SLP students spoke 48 unique languages, and while most were bi or multilingual, few felt competent enough in languages other than English and French to engage in clinical service delivery. There were 151 unique racial and ethnic identities reported, with the largest proportion of students identifying as 'North American.' Culturally most SLPs identified as 'Canadian.' Very few students identified as Black or Indigenous racially or culturally. Most respondents reported a higher-than-average total household income. Findings suggest that the demographic composition of current SLP students is more diverse than those currently practicing, however there is still over-, and underrepresentation of certain populations. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.