Studies

The first demographic survey of the planetary science field, sponsored by NASA’s Planetary Science Division and executed by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), is currently in work.  Watch for the results soon.  The associated Survey of U.S. Academic Departments that Include Planetary Science has been completed; results will be presented at this year’s meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS).

Other demographic studies of women in the sciences over the last decade are listed here for your use.  In general, the first three places to look for statistics are professional organizations for the field, such as the AGI, AAS, and the AIP:

• Status of the Geoscience Workforce (American Geological Institute, February 2009);
• Senior Women: A Comparison of Astronomy Departments (AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy, March 2011)
• The Ongoing Demographic Shift in the AAS (STATUS January 2009);
• The American Institute of Physics Statistical Research Center;
• Untapped Talent: The African American Presence in Physics and the Geosciences (AIP, 2008);
• Preliminary Findings: Hispanic Americans in Physics and Geosciences (AIP, 2008);
• Preliminary Findings: Native Americans in Physics and the Geosciences (AIP, 2008);
• Women in Physics & Astronomy Faculty Positions (AIP, 2006);
• Trends in the Physics Academic Workforce (AIP, 2006);
• Women in Physics and Astronomy (AIP, 2005); and
• International Studies of Women in Physics (AIP, 2001 and 2005).

As a major funding organization, the National Science Foundation has many comprehensive studies available through the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.  Examples include:

• Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering (NSF, 2011) and associated data tables;
• Burelli, Joan, Thirty-three years of women in science and Engineering Faculty Positions (NSF, 2008); and
• many other biannual reports, such as those building from the landmark Indicators 2000:Academic Research and Development: Financial and Personnel Resources, Support for Graduate Education, and outputs).

Articles discussing demographics in the geosciences, including representation on NASA flight missions:

• Niebur, S. M. Planetary Science Missions: Assessing PI Experience.  Proceedings of the Low Cost Planetary Missions 9 Conference, June 21-23, 2011.;
• Hand, Eric, NASA Faces Dearth of Mission Leaders, Nature Geoscience,  July 2011;
• Niebur, S. M.  Women and Mission Leadership. Space Policy 26, November 2009, pp. 257-263;
• Niebur, S. M.  Principal Investigators and Mission Leadership. Space Policy 25, August 2009, pp. 181-186;
• Holmes, Mary Anne, Suzanne O’Connell, Connie Frey, and Lois Ongley, Gender Imbalance in U.S. Geoscience Academia, Nature Geoscience, February 2008, v. 1,  n. 2,  p. 79-82); and
• Holmes, Mary Anne, Suzanne O’Connell, Connie Frey, and Lois Ongley, Academic Specialties in U.S. Are Shifting: Hiring of Women Geoscientists is Stagnating, EOS 2003, v. 84, n. 43, p. 457.

Demographic studies of graduate school enrollment and experiences:

• A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States (National Academies, 2011);
• PhDs.org Grad School Rankings – you can rank programs in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Earth Sciences, Physics, or other fields using criteria that you select;
• The National Doctoral Program Survey, with results that can be viewed by gender; and
• Graduate School and the Job Market of the 1990s: A Survey of Young Geoscientists (Chris Golde and Peter Fiske).

Discussion of other surveys of women in science includes:

• Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation, US Chamber of Commerce, July 2011;
• Rosser, Sue V. Attracting and Retaining Women in Science and Engineering, AAUP, July 2003; and
• Mahowald, Natalie’s survey of female MS/PhDs in non-academic careers, including what they like and don’t like about their jobs.

Know of other studies or major articles?  Please let us know in the comments!