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Diversity

ACS releases first member-diversity report

The report provides insight into the society’s membership demographics

by Krystal Vasquez
May 23, 2023

 

The American Chemical Society has released its first report exploring the demographics of its membership. According to the report, tracking this data will help the society achieve the fifth goal of its strategic plan: to “embrace and advance inclusion in chemistry.” The data can also help ACS better tailor programs and services to its members, the report says.

70.3%

Share of ACS membership community who identify as white

67.4%

Share of ACS membership community who identify as men.

The report was produced by the ACS Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect, with help from ACS Society Business Solutions, using a number of internal data sources for 2022, such as the annual ACS salary survey. It examines demographic data across multiple axes, including gender, race and ethnicity, and age. The report also explores metrics such as the percentage of members that have obtained a certain degree or work in a specific chemistry discipline or employment sector.

ACS publishes C&EN, but C&EN remains editorially independent of ACS.

In 2022, ACS had 161,103 members, but complete demographic information was not available for all of them. Of the members who were covered by the report’s data, over three-quarters were based in the US. In addition, 67.4% identified as men and 32.4% identified as women. The remaining 0.2% of respondents either identified as non-binary or chose to self-describe their gender.

Men make up a larger percentage of ACS members than they do of the US science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, men made up 65% of the STEM workforce in 2021 and women made up 35%. Information for other gender identities was not available.

Men and women are also more evenly distributed in the overall US workforce at 52% and 48%, respectively, according to the US Census Bureau.

In terms of race and ethnicity, 70.3% of ACS members identify as white. That value falls to 64% in the overall US STEM workforce and drops another two percentage points in the US workforce more generally.

Asian and Pacific Islander ACS members make up the next-largest racial and ethnic group at 19%, followed by Hispanic members at 4.5%, and Black and African American members at 2.9%.

ACS members lean older than the general workforce. Over half list their age as 51 years or more, compared to 35% for the overall US workforce, according to the Census Bureau.

The report says 63% of members have a doctorate or equivalent, and nearly half work in academia.

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