Examination of the U.S. Air Force's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce Needs in the Future and Its Strategy to Meet Those Needs (2010)

This appendix provides the following information to support topics discussed in Chapter 5:

• Ethnic definitions

• Data from analyses of female and minority employment in selected STEM career fields

• Table 1—Distribution of science and engineering bachelor’s degrees by citizenship, race/ethnicity, and sex of recipients (1995-2004)

The following definitions are from the U.S. Census website, www.census.gov :

• White refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicated their race or races as ‘White’ or nationalities such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish.

• Black or African American refers to people having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicated their race or races as ‘Black, African-Am, or Negro,’ or nationalities such as Nigerian, or Haitian.

• American Indian and Alaska Native refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. It includes people who indicated their race or races by marking this category or writing in their principal or enrolled tribe, such as Rosebud Sioux, Chippewa, or Navajo.

• Asian refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. It includes people who indicated their race or races as Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, or other Asian, or wrote in nationalities such as Burmese, Hmong, Pakistani, or Thai.

• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander refer to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicated their race or races as Native Hawaiian, Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoan, or other Pacific Islander, or nationalities such as Tahitian, Mariana Islander, or Chuukese.

• Some other race was included in Census 2000 for respondents who were unable to identify with the five Office of Management and Budget race categories. Respondents who provided write-in entries such as Moroccan, South African, Belizean, or a Hispanic origin (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban) are included in the “Some other race” category.

• The term Hispanic is an ethnic category not a racial category for persons who identify themselves as being of Spanish origin. Unlike other Census Bureau designations, Hispanic denotes neither race nor color, and a Hispanic may be White, Black, or American Indian, as well as (1) Mexican Americans/Chicanos, (2) Puerto Ricans/Boricuas, (3) Hispanos (U.S. Hispanics who identify themselves as Spanish), (4) Cuban Americans, and (5) Latinos (Hispanics from countries other than those already mentioned). Terms other than Hispanic may be preferred. For example, many Mexican Americans prefer Chicano, Puerto Ricans may prefer Boricuas, while others may prefer the more general term, Latino.

Committtee analysis of data from the 2000 census yielded the following profiles for four engineering disciplines (aerospace engineers, civil engineers, electrical and electronic engineers, and mechanical engineers) and two science fields (atmospheric and space scientists and chemical and material scientists) representative of science and engineering disciplines important to Air Force STEM needs and the aerospace industry.

• Aerospace Engineers (SOC 17-2011)

  • 91 percent Male and 9 percent Female

  • 81 percent White, 4.6 percent Hispanic, 3.1 percent Black, 0.2 American Indian/Alaskan Native, 9.4 percent Asian and the remaining 1.7 percent from 6 mixed racial groupings

  • 6.5 percent White Females, 0.5 percent Hispanic Females, 0.6 percent Black Females, 0.0 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native, 1.2 percent Asian Females and the remaining 0.2 from 6 mixed racial groupings

• Civil Engineers (SOC 17-2061)

  • 89.9 percent Male and 10.1 percent Female

  • 81.8 percent White, 4.3 percent Hispanic, 3.4 percent Black, 0.4 American Indian/Alaskan Native, 8.5 percent Asian and the remaining 1.6 percent from 6 mixed racial groupings

  • 7.5 percent White Females, 0.6 percent Hispanic Females, 0.6 percent Black Females, 0.1 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native, 1.1 percent Asian Females and the remaining 0.2 from 6 mixed racial groupings

• Electrical and Electronic Engineers (SOC 17-2070)

  • 91.5 percent Male and 8.5 percent Female

  • 81.8 percent White, 4.3 percent Hispanic, 3.4 percent Black, 0.4 American Indian/Alaskan Native, 8.5 percent Asian and the remaining 1.6 percent from 6 mixed racial groupings

  • 5.4 percent White Females, 0.4 percent Hispanic Females, 0.8 percent Black Females, 0.0 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native, 1.6 percent Asian Females and the remaining 0.1 from 6 mixed racial groupings

• Mechanical Engineers (SOC 17-2141)

  • 93.6 percent Male and 6.4 percent Female

  • 84.2 percent White, 3.3 percent Hispanic, 3.4 percent Black, 0.2 American Indian/Alaskan Native, 7.5 percent Asian and the remaining 1.4 percent from 6 mixed racial groupings

• 5.0 percent White Females, 0.2 percent Hispanic Females, 0.5 percent Black Females, 0.0 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native, 0.6 percent Asian Females and the remaining 0.1 from 6 mixed racial groupings

• Atmospheric and Space Scientists (SOC 19-2021)

  • 87.2 percent Male and 12.9 percent Female

  • 90.9 percent White, 2.4 percent Hispanic, 3.0 percent Black, 0.3 American Indian/Alaskan Native, 2.4 percent Asian and the remaining 1.0 percent from 6 mixed racial groupings

  • 11.5 percent White Females, 0.2 percent Hispanic Females, 0.4 percent Black Females, 0.1 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native, 0.5 percent Asian Females and the remaining 0.1 from 6 mixed racial groupings

• Chemical and Material Scientists (SOC 19-2030)

  • 67.7 percent Male and 32.4 percent Female

  • 74.4 percent White, 3.9 percent Hispanic, 5.8 percent Black, 0.3 American Indian/Alaskan Native, 14.1 percent Asian and the remaining 1.3 percent from 6 mixed racial groupings

  • 21.7 percent White Females, 1.6 percent Hispanic Females, 2.1 percent Black Females, 0.1 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native, 6.3 percent Asian Females and the remaining 0.5 from 6 mixed racial groupings