Asian scientists are underrepresented in leadership roles across US STEM careers, argue Lilian Gomory Wu and Wei Jing in this week’s Nature Careers column.
As can be seen in the graph above, Asians – people from the Far East, the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia – are falling behind white people and members of other underrepresented groups, when it comes to filling leadership positions in US science. Whilst this is true for both Asian men and women, the problem seems to be compounded for female scientists, with just 4% of Asian women in industry and 28% in the federal workforce holding managerial positions. By comparison, Asians made up almost 80 per cent of doctoral recipients with temporary visas planning to work in the US. Why are they failing to reach the top?