Race and Ethnicity in the Sociology Pipeline

ASA RESEARCH BRIEF AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT March 2007 Race and Ethnicity in the Sociology Pipeline Roberta Spalter-Roth and William Erskine In recent years the metaphor of an academic pipeline has been used to describe the transition processes from undergraduate student to full professor and especially for the transitions of women and minorities. Equality in the academic pipeline assumes that the same proportion of each group can be found at each stage. Reductions in group representation at succeeding stages are referred to as leaks. The underlying question of this brief is whether the proportion of minorities in sociology stays stable or declines at each stage of the pipeline. If, for example, a leak occurs at the first stage, then the discipline would start with a relatively large number of minorities compared to whites at the undergraduate level, and end with a relatively small number at the full professor level. The result of this scenario is what some have referred to as a color-line, full of obstacles for minorities to cross. Labeling the decreasing number of minorities at each stage leakage in the pipeline assumes that obtaining a doctorate and becoming a full professor in the same field as the one in which you received a bachelor s degree is the preferred outcome of disciplinary training. An alternative outcome is that sociology training, for example, is a pathway to other professions and other types of degrees. In fact, only six percent of recent sociology majors intend to go on to obtain a doctorate in sociology. Instead, they hope to obtain degrees in education, psychology counseling, applied sociology master s degrees, and law (with whites over-represented among those hoping to obtain law degrees). Obviously, no one expects all 25,000 sociology bachelor s degree recipients in 2004 to become full professors. The pipeline issue should be framed in terms of whether there is parity or greater leakage by minorities at different junctures and whether these leakages can be attributed to supply or demand factors (that is, either encouragement, on the one hand, or constraints and obstacles, on the other hand). This brief focuses on points of equality and points of disproportionate leakage throughout the academic careers of minorities and especially s in sociology. FINDINGS About 16 percent of all sociology bachelor s degree recipients in 2004 were s, higher than the percent of s in the U.S. population. For every one recipient there were four white recipients. The percentage of minorities ( s, s, and s), and especially the percentage of s, receiving bachelor s degrees was higher in sociology than in the other behavioral and social sciences (Figure 1). ASA Research Brief 1

Figure 1 Baccalaureate Degrees Awarded to Selected Minority Groups by Discipline: 1995-2004 (Percent of All Bachelor's Degrees Awarded) 8.7 6.2 5.1 9.9 15.2 10.3 6.0 5.5 9.9 16.3 7.0 13.0 7.5 7.6 8.7 16.7 8.4 9.6 5.3 5.5 4.7 5.5 6.2 5.4 Psychology Economics Political Science Sociology Psychology Economics Political Science Sociology 1995-1998 2000-2004 Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Completions, 1995-2004 (Washington, DC: NCES, 2006). Retrieved from http://caspar.nsf.gov (October 26, 2006). Figure 2 Significant Differences in the Reasons for Majoring in Sociology by Race and Ethnicity: 2005 (Percent Strongly Agreeing; Weighted Data) Understanding Social Forces/Individual Relationship 61.6 68.4 77.3 41.0 Help Change Society 56.0 61.4 Understand My Life 35.9 38.1 46.0 34.5 Prepare Me For Desired Job 49.8 39.9 Prepare For Graduate/Professional School 28.5 45.2 46.9 /Latino/a Source: Sociological Association, Research and Development Department, What Can I Do With a Bachelors in Sociology? A National Survey of Seniors Majoring in Sociology (Washington, DC:ASA, 2005). Race and Ethnicity in the Sociology Pipeline 2

Figure 3 Significant Differences in Three Learning Activities by Race and Ethnicity: 2005 (Percent Participating as Part of Sociology Major; Weighted Data) 26.6 Community, Political, or Other Volunteer Activity 36.2 35.4 25.4 Service Learning Project 35.8 31.6 Career-Related Mentorship Programs, or Other Networking Opportunities 15.2 20.7 26.9 /Latino/a Source: Sociological Association, Research and Development Department, What Can I Do With a Bachelors in Sociology? A National Survey of Seniors Majoring in Sociology (Washington, DC:ASA, 2005). What Is It About Sociology That Encourages s To Major? Data from the Sociological Association (ASA) s recent report What Can I Do with a Bachelor s Degree in Sociology?, a survey of about 1,700 senior majors in sociology, finds that significantly more s were likely to state that they majored in sociology because they gained a sociological perspective that can help them understand the relation between history and biography (Figure 2). They agreed that the knowledge they gained will help them understand the social forces and individual relationships and, as a result, to change society. Along with changing society, majors were also more likely to look to their sociological training to prepare them for careers (though not necessarily in sociology). s were the most likely group of senior majors to participate in activities that can result both in changing society (through community, political or volunteer activity) as well as activities that can lead to future careers and graduate school that is, careerrelated mentorship programs (Figure 3). s, as with all other groups, did not major in sociology for convenience reasons, for example, because the major requires fewer credit hours (data not shown). When contemplating their future plans, s were the most likely of all racial and ethnic groups to envision simultaneously attending graduate school and working, and the least likely to work at a new job alone (Figure 4). In fact, they were the most likely to expect to go on to graduate school, either full or part-time. Graduate School Enrollments The one-in-four to white ratio that we found in receipt of bachelor s degrees stays relatively constant for graduate school enrollments (Figure 5). In 1995, there was approximately one graduate student to every six whites. In the ASA Research Brief 3

Figure 4 Plans for Attending Graduate School or Getting a New Job of Graduating Sociology Majors by Race or Ethnicity: 2005 (Percent of Graduates; Weighted Data) New Job Only 49.9 New Job Only 33.5 New Job Only 37.2 Graduate School Only 18.9 Graduate School Only 21.0 Graduate School Only 24.8 Both Grad School & New Job 22.0 Both Grad School & New Job 42.5 Both Grad School & New Job 32.6 Neither of These 9.2 Neither of These 3.0 Neither of These 5.4 /Latino/a Source: Sociological Association, Research and Development Department, What Can I Do With a Bachelors in Sociology? A National Survey of Seniors Majoring in Sociology (Washington, DC:ASA, 2005). Figure 5 Graduate Enrollments in Sociology by Selected Race and Ethnicity Groups: 1995-2004 (Number of Graduate Students) 6,673 6,601 6,446 5,978 5,796 5,445 5,590 5,549 5,602 5,535 1,096 1,137 1,161 1,213 1,159 1,098 1,132 1,132 1,201 1,188 531 546 625 643 674 634 636 686 709 692 434 451 420 414 406 367 374 387 456 399 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Source: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Science Resources Statistics (SRS), Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering,1982-2004 (Arlington, VA: NSF, 2006). Retrieved from http://caspar.nsf.gov (October 26, 2006). Race and Ethnicity in the Sociology Pipeline 4

Figure 6 Master's Degrees Awarded in Sociology by Selected Race/Ethnic Categories: 1995-2004 (Number of Master's Degrees Awarded) 1,165 1,160 1,130 1,165 1,254 1,178 1,183 1,177 1,202, Pacific Islander / Latino(a) 229 85 74 261 247 87 65 69 97 220 72 110 344 66 116 294 70 285 140 86 117 274 95 301 139 106 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Completions,1995-2004 (Washington, DC: NCES, 2006). Retrieved from http://caspar.nsf.gov (October 26, 2006). most recent year for which the National Science Foundation (NSF) has data (2004), the ratio was 1 for each 4.6 whites. This ratio suggests that, currently, there is little disproportionate leakage in the first post-bachelor s stage in the pipeline and that the supply of students (or the demand for them) remained constant since obtaining their bachelor s degrees. Master s Degrees in the Pipeline This one-in-four ratio remained constant at the master s level. In 1995, the ratio of s to whites obtaining their master s degrees was one to five, but the relative number of s increased while the relative number of whites stayed stable in the 10 years since 1995. By 2004, the ratio of s to whites who obtained the master s degrees narrowed to one in four (Figure 6). This finding suggests no disproportional leak from the pipeline during this first stage of graduate school. Ph.D. s in the Pipeline By the time sociology students have obtained their doctorates, there has been serious leakage in the pipeline (Figure 7) with an 85 percent loss of master s graduates compared to 51 percent loss of whites. The gap between and whites obtaining doctoral degrees, however, has been closing over the last decade. In 1995, the gap was one for every twelve whites. By 2004, the gap had decreased to one for every nine whites. Nonetheless there were five fewer s awarded doctorate degrees for every Ph.D. awarded to white students than there were at the master s degree level. ASA s Minority Fellowship Program, active since 1975, attempts to retain minority doctoral students in the Ph.D. pipeline. It is designed to mentor selected minority Ph.D. students, help them to successfully clear this juncture in the pipeline, and put them on the ASA Research Brief 5

Figure 7 Doctorate Degrees Awarded in Sociology by Selected Race/Ethnic Categories: 1995-2004 (Number of PhDs Awarded) 326 323 371 368 375 343 340 356 352, Pacific Islander / Latino(a) 34 30 26 23 13 12 39 29 15 49 50 42 44 23 27 33 25 15 24 24 22 51 37 25 40 25 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Completions,1995-2004 (Washington, DC: NCES, 2006). Retrieved from http://caspar.nsf.gov (October 26, 2006). track to successful scholarly productivity once they complete their doctoral degrees. Although we saw that s were more likely to report receiving mentoring while undergraduates than whites, this does not appear to be the case for s and s during graduate school. When asked in an ASA survey of newly minted Ph.D. s whether or not they received faculty help in publishing, the key measure of academic productivity, there were statistically significant differences among race and ethnic groups. Only 33 percent of s and 36 percent of s answered in the affirmative compared to 56 percent of whites and 48 percent of s. This finding is important for understanding later career leakage since graduate school and early career productivity has long-term implications for academic careers. In spite of the leakage between the master s and the doctorate degree, there was a slightly higher share of race and ethnic groups (including s) obtaining doctorates in sociology than in other behavioral and social sciences as of 2004. Figure 8 shows that over 20 percent of sociology doctorates were awarded to minority group members, which is about two percent more than for political science, economics, and psychology. Economics as a discipline tends to have more s and fewer s and s than the other social science disciplines. Obtaining the First Post-Doctorate Position What happens to minority Ph.D. s as they attempt to move into faculty positions? To measure this process, Figure 9 presents the ratio of the number of job applications to the number of job offers received by race and ethnic groups (using data from ASA s Ph.D. tracking survey, currently in its tenth year). s do best in terms of mean number of Race and Ethnicity in the Sociology Pipeline 6

Figure 8 Doctorate Degrees Awarded to Selected Minority Groups by Discipline: 1995-2004 (Percent of All Doctorate Degrees Awarded) 4.3 5.3 3.0 3.7 2.9 12.0 6.9 3.3 4.8 7.6 3.1 5.8 7.0 6.4 4.8 3.8 4.5 9.6 8.9 4.2 5.1 9.4 5.4 5.6 Psychology Economics Political Science Sociology Psychology Economics Political Science Sociology 1995-1998 2000-2004 Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Completions, 1995-2004 (Washington, DC: NCES, 2006). Retrieved from http://caspar.nsf.gov (October 26, 2006). Figure 9 Applications per Job Offer by Race and Ethnicity: 1998 (Mean Number of Applications per Job Offer) Job Search while ABD Job Search with PhD 32 21 22 17 18 19 14 7 6 4 or Pacific Islander Total Source: ASA, Research and Development Department, Minorities at Three Stages in the Sociology Pipeline (Washington, DC: ASA, 2001, p.5). ASA Research Brief 7

Figure 10 Distribution of PhD Graduates by Type of Job Obtained by Race/Ethnicity: 1998 (Percent of Race/Ethnicity Category) 57.6 71.8 68.7 63.6 57.8 42.4 42.2 28.2 31.3 36.4 or Pacific Islander Total Tenure-Track or Postdoctoral Job Non-Academic or Non-Tenure-Track/Part-time Academic Job Source: ASA, Research and Development Department, Minorities at Three Stages in the Sociology Pipeline (Washington, DC: ASA, 2001, p.6). offers per application, yet relatively few applied for jobs and Figure 10 shows that fully half of these new doctoral recipients obtained non-tenure track or part-time positions rather than tenure track positions. s appear to be hot on the market while they are ABDs (receiving an average of one job offer for every seven applications), but less so after they obtain their doctorates. They were the most likely of all the groups to obtain tenure track positions (72 percent did so). The small number of s was the second most likely to obtain tenure track positions but needed to send off more applications to receive job offers. Given the relatively small numbers of doctoral recipients in any given year (approximately 40), these data show a relatively strong demand for these new Ph.D. s and less of a demand for s and s. Distribution of First Post-Doctorate Positions by Type of Institution As shown in Figure 11, white assistant and full professors were evenly distributed by type of institution of higher education, with more than 80 percent of whites in each type of institution. Members of minority groups, however, were unequally distributed. s were somewhat underrepresented at Research and Doctoral universities and over-represented and Bachelor s-only institutions compared to their percent in the entire population of sociology faculty members. In contrast, s and s were underrepresented at Bachelor s-only institutions. The small number of these later two minority groups may not provide an accurate picture of demand, however. The Loss of Underrepresented Minority Faculty by Rank and Type of Institution Figure 12 shows the declining percentage of underrepresented minorities (that is, Race and Ethnicity in the Sociology Pipeline 8

Figure 11, or Latino/a, and Faculty by Institution Type: 2000/2001 (Percent of Total Faculty) 9.2% 6.8% 7.3% 7.2% 5.2% 5.9% 5.5% 5.9% 5.1% 3.7% 2.6% 3.4% 2.7% 3.0% 1.7% Research I Research II & Doctoral Master's Baccalaureate All Institutions (84% ) (84% ) (82% ) (86% ) (83% ) Source: Sociological Association, Research and Development Department, Survey of Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Sociology, 2000/2001 (Washington, DC: ASA, 2002). Figure 12 Assistant and Full Professors in Sociology Programs Who are in a Underrepresented Minority* Category by Institution Type: 2000/2001 (Percentage of Faculty Rank) 17.4 15.5 Assistant Professors Full Professors 12.5 13.3 9.6 6.1 5.4 4.6 3.8 4.7 Research I Research II & Doctoral Master's Baccalaureate All Institutions a, or Latino/a, and Native. Source: Sociological Association, Research and Development Department, Survey of Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Sociology, 2000/2001 (Washington, DC: ASA, 2002). ASA Research Brief 9

Figure 13 Median Annual Salaries of and Assistant Professors and Full Professors in Sociology Programs (in 2006 Constant Dollars): 2000/2001 Assistant Professors Full Professors $91,471 $75,529 $48,879 $50,911 Source: Sociological Association, Research and Development Department, Survey of Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Sociology, 2000/2001 (Washington, DC: ASA, 2002). s) in faculty ranks at different types of institutions. 1 Overall, there was an 8.6 percent difference in the percentage of underrepresented minority faculty between the assistant and the full professor level at all universities. Research I universities started with the highest percentage of minority faculty at the assistant professor level, but these schools lost the second highest percentage of these faculty members between assistant and full professor ranks. The greatest leak in the pipeline was at Master s Comprehensive universities where there was an 11 percent leak between the lowest and the highest ranks. This finding suggests that either minority faculty were being recruited from Master s Comprehensive institutions or that they are not being promoted. 1 Because of their high degree of academic success as a group in the science, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, are not generally considered to be a underrepresented minority in higher education programs or positions. Salary Levels faculty members who stay in institutions of higher education to become full professors have higher salaries than do whites in similar ranks (see Figure 13). For every dollar earned by white faculty at the rank of full professors, s earn $1.30. This may be the result of greater time in rank, or the scarcity in the market for s who have not been weeded out of the pipeline at earlier stages. CONCLUSION The wedding cake-like Chart 1 shows the estimated amount of leakage in the pipeline at each stage in the academic career of s in sociology. As we have seen, not all of this leakage is disproportional. undergraduate majors are enamored of the sociological perspective with it s Race and Ethnicity in the Sociology Pipeline 10

s Becoming Full Prof s of Sociology s Becoming Assistant Prof s of Sociology Sociology Ph.D. s Awarded to s Sociology M.A. s Awarded to s s Enrolled as Sociology Grad Students 20 30 PhD 40 270 1,150 Chart 1 The Survival of s in the Sociology Career Pipeline (Estimated Number of Students/Faculty) s Enrolled in Grad School 2,480 Sociology Baccalaureate Pool 3,900 ASA Research Brief 11

understandings of the relation of individuals and social forces and its emphasis on analysis of and strategies for social change. More s hope to go on, and do attend, graduate school than other race and ethnic group. Disproportionate leakages do not begin until the doctorate level. Those s who do obtain their doctoral degrees in sociology are the most likely group to obtain tenure track positions, although their positions are not evenly distributed by type of institution. Although the data suggest a strong demand for with doctoral degrees, they also show another major leakage in the faculty ranks. In contrast to s, the relative proportion of whites increased rather than decreased between assistant to full professor. One reason for concern about these leaks is the topics and areas of interest minorities bring to sociology as a discipline. A frequently made argument for diversity is that various racial and ethnic groups bring new topics and interests to the academy. Figure 14 shows that each group had strong interest in the sociological perspective and knowledge based on their own race or ethnic group. s were most likely to join the Latina/o Sociology section, s were most likely to join the Asia/ section, and s were most likely to join the Racial and Ethnic Minorities section or the Race, Class, and Gender section. The clustering of race and ethnic groups into certain sections does show a relationship between areas of interest and demographic characteristics and suggests that there might be an under representation in key sociological topic areas if there were no minorities in the pipeline. Figure 14 Top Five ASA Section Membership by Selected Race/Ethnicity Groups: 2005 (Percent of Section Membership) Latino/a Sociology 57.0 International Migration Racial/Ethnic Minorities Alcohol & Drugs Sociology of Sexualities Asia/ Sociology International Migration Mathemathical Sociology Racial/Ethnic Minorities Rationality & Society Racial/Ethnic Minorities Race, Gender, Class Sociology of Mental Health Sociology of Education Community & Urban 13.6 7.6 6.3 6.3 12.0 9.7 7.9 7.5 17.8 9.0 7.8 7.8 28.9 49.5 Source: Sociological Association, Membership Database (Washington, DC, 2005). Race and Ethnicity in the Sociology Pipeline 12

Studies of the academic pipeline have lead to programs (such as ASA s Minority Fellowship Program supported by National Institute of Mental Health). With the growth of anti-affirmative action sentiment, these programs may be on the decline. Future studies will help us to understand whether the lack of programs will result in more disproportionate leaks in the pipeline. For example, ASA s Ph.D. tracking survey should tell us whether or not underrepresented minorities leave the academy as a result of failure to obtain tenure and other push factors, or whether there are pulls to jobs outside the professorate. Future studies will also help us to formulate policy strategies to plug the leaks. Note: An earlier version of this report was presented on November 4, 2006 at the 28 th Annual Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, held in Madison, Wisconsin ASA Research Brief 13