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Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing
Representation of PhDs with disabilities working in STEM fields by milestone in academic career. a, Faculty rank. b, Tenure status. c, Academic administrator (dean/president). d, Received federal funding for work/research. Proportions are survey weighted and age standardized. Data are presented as percentages and 95% CI. Two-tailed chi-square tests were used and no multiple comparisons were made. The total denominator for each panel is the number of PhDs working in STEM fields at an academic institution (N = 219,413). Credit: Nature Human Behaviour (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01745-z
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Representation of PhD recipients with disabilities working in STEM fields by milestone in their academic career. a, Faculty rank. b, Tenure status. c, Academic administrator (dean/president). d, Received federal funding for work/research. Proportions are survey weighted and age standardized. Data are presented as percentages and 95% CI. Two-tailed chi-square tests were used and no multiple comparisons were made. The total denominator for each panel is the number of PhD recipients working in STEM fields at academic institutions (N = 219,413). Credit: Nature Human Behaviour (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01745-z
According to a new study by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Disability and Health Research, U.S. science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) PhD recipients who become disabled by age 25 earn $14,360 less per year in academia than their non-disabled peers. They are also underrepresented in senior faculty and tenured positions, such as deans and provosts.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Human Behavior.
“We’re trying to identify and remove barriers to inclusion,” says Bonilyn Swenar, PhD, MPH, Endowed Professor of Disability Health and Justice and founding director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Disability Health Research. “To combat disparities, we need structural change.”
Previous studies have documented wage gaps and unequal representation in STEM fields among women and minorities in the U.S. Research has also found that scientists and engineers with disabilities (regardless of the age at which their disability began) are more likely to be unemployed than the U.S. workforce as a whole. However, there is a lack of data on disparities for STEM PhD recipients with disabilities.
Dr. Swenor and colleagues investigated evidence of pay and representation differences between STEM PhD recipients with disabilities before age 25 and those with disabilities after age 25, compared to PhD recipients without disabilities. The authors used national data on approximately 1.15 million U.S. research PhD recipients who earned their degrees between 1973 and 2017.
Of the sample, 704,013 people are currently working in STEM fields (including 36,807 who reported experiencing a disability later in life and 20,544 who reported experiencing a disability in childhood).Within this subset, the researchers matched individuals based on socioeconomic background, occupation, and degree-related characteristics.
Across all employment sectors, STEM doctoral graduates with disabilities earn $10,580 less per year than their non-disabled peers, and $14,360 less in academia. The authors also found that people with disabilities are underrepresented in senior faculty and tenured positions, such as deans and provosts. The authors call for structural reforms to close these disparities.
“The Disability Health Research Centre aims to shift the paradigm of ‘living with disability’ to ‘thriving with disability’ and is using a data-driven approach to drive change across many fields, including STEM,” said Dr Swenor.
Currently, more than 27% of American adults have a disability, yet people with disabilities still face many barriers to health, equity, and inclusion.
Study authors include Bonnielin Swenor, Franz Castro (JHSON), Elizabeth Stuart (JHSPH), Jennifer Deal (JHSPH; JHSOM), and Varshini Varadaraj (JHSON).
Further information: Franz Castro et al., “STEM PhDs with childhood disabilities have lower salaries and fewer opportunities for higher academic jobs,” Nature Human Behaviour (2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01745-z
Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour
Courtesy of Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing