Thousands of scientists and experts left federal jobs between 2016 and 2020, in many cases driven out by a hostile political climate, leaving a lack of capacity that undermined federal agencies’ ability to successfully accomplish their missions on behalf of the public. This report finds that, while most federal agencies have slowly managed to build back capacity over the past five years, progress is inconsistent across agencies and significantly more work is needed to attract and retain a diverse workforce at federal agencies.
Based on input from a roundtable of experts who assessed progress at science-based federal agencies, the report finds today’s scientific and technical workforce at the federal level still doesn’t reflect the diversity of the country, with scientists from historically excluded communities still under-represented in these jobs. It offers concrete steps federal agencies can take to improve recruitment, retention, and diversity to ensure a scientific workforce that reflects and addresses the needs of a diversifying country.
On this topic
Percent change of STEM professionals since 2017 at six federal agencies
Percent change of agency STEM professionals by race and ethnicity
Percentage of BIPOC, White, and multiracial STEM professionals by agency
Type of institution from which federal scientists obtained their highest degree
Citation
Desikan, Anita, Jacob Carter, F. Abron Franklin, Raechel McKinley, Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, Andrew A. Rosenberg. 2023. Diversifying the Federal STEM Workforce. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists. https://doi.org/10.47923/2023.15242
Related resources
Using the FACA Database
The Independent Science Initiative
Independent Science Committees
