Representation of PhDs with disabilities working in STEM fields across academic career stage categories. a, faculty rank. b, Occupancy status. c, Academic Administrator (Dean/President). d, Received federal funding for his work/research. The proportions are weighted according to the survey and standardized by age. Data are presented as percentages and 95% CI. Two-tailed chi-square tests were used and no multiple comparisons were performed. For each panel, the total denominator is the number of PhDs working in STEM at academic institutions (N = 219,413). Credit: Human behavior (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01745-z
New research from the Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center suggests that Ph.D. In the United States, science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM) graduates who became disabled before age 25 earn $14,360 less per year in academia than those without disabilities. They are also underrepresented at senior levels of faculty (such as deans and chairs) and in tenured positions.
The results are published in the journal Human behavior.
“We identify barriers to inclusion so we can dismantle them,” says Bonnielin Swenor, Ph.D., MPH, endowed professor of disability health and justice and founder of the Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center. “Addressing disparities will require structural transformation.”
Previous research has found wage disparities and unequal representation in STEM fields for women and underrepresented racial minorities in the United States; Research has also found that scientists and engineers with disabilities (regardless of age of disability onset) are more likely to be unemployed than the general U.S. workforce. However, data on disparities among STEM doctorates with disabilities is lacking.
Dr. Swenor and colleagues examined evidence on differences in salary and representation of STEM PhDs. graduates with disabilities before age 25 and those with disabilities at age 25 or older, compared to non-disabled PhD graduates. The authors used national data on nearly 1.15 million U.S. research doctorate holders who graduated between 1973 and 2017.
In their sample, 704,013 people were still working in the STEM field (including 36,807 people who reported disabilities encountered later in life and 20,544 people who reported disabilities early in life). Within this subset, they matched individuals according to their socio-economic origin, employment and diploma-related characteristics.
Across all employment sectors, the STEM Ph.D. graduates with disabilities earned $10,580 less per year than their non-disabled counterparts – and in academia, they earned $14,360 less. The authors also found that people with disabilities were underrepresented at senior levels of faculty (such as deans and chairs) and in tenured positions. The authors call for structural transformations to combat these disparities.
“The Disability Health Research Center aims to shift the paradigm from ‘living with disability’ to ‘thriving with disability’ and uses data-driven approaches to drive change across many sectors, including STEM “, explains Dr. Swenor.
Today, more than 27% of American adults have disabilities, and 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).
More information:
Franz Castro et al, STEM PhDs with disabilities experienced early in life earn lower salaries and are underrepresented among senior academic positions, Human behavior (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01745-z
Provided by Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
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