Underrepresented group

Underrepresented groups describe subsets of a population that hold a smaller percentage within a significant subgroup than they hold in the general population. Characteristics of underrepresented groups vary depending on the subgroup being considered.

Underrepresented groups in STEM

Underrepresented groups in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in the United States include women and some minorities. In the United States, women made up 50% of the college-educated workers in 2010, but only 28% of the science and engineering workers. Other underrepresented groups in science in engineering included African Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Hispanics, who collectively formed 26% of the population, but accounted for only 10 percent of the science and engineering workers.

Underrepresented groups in computing, a subset of the STEM fields, include Hispanics, and African-Americans. In the United States in 2015, Hispanics were 15% of the population and African-Americans were 13%, but their representation in the workforces of major tech companies in technical positions typically runs less than 5% and 3%, respectively. Similarly, women who compromise approximately 50% of the general populuation, typically comprise less than 20% of the technology and leadership positions in the major technology companies.

See also

• STEM pipeline
• Labor and Worklife Program
• Computing Research Association
• America COMPETES Act

External links

• The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Committee on Underrepresented Groups and the Expansion of the Science and Engineering Workforce Pipeline
• Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation, America's Science and TEchnology Talent at the Crossroads 2011
• Science and Engineering Indicators Report 2016