Diversity and Inclusion in the Planetary Science Workforce (Rapid Response and Novel Research in Earth Science)

Diversity and inclusiveness along gender, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, generational, and other axes is a business as well as a social imperative. It leads to innovation and protects against groupthink and stagnation. Social science research shows that intellectual cross-fertilization is an important source of innovation and new ideas and that diverse groups come up with better ideas and solutions to problems. This is particularly important for science, where we are pushing back the frontiers of human knowledge and answering new and unique questions. Furthermore, diversity within a team gives greater ability to reach new groups for outreach and support, so a more diverse workforce enables interesting a more diverse population.

While one of NASA’s 3 main strategic goals involves serving the American public, the current planetary science workforce is not nearly as diverse as the U.S. population. The planetary science workforce is 25% women and 87% white, compared to the population which is 50% women and 64% white. Recent studies into the composition of robotic NASA spacecraft missions demonstrates that women are further underrepresented on those science teams. NASA’s 2014 Strategic Plan further states that NASA’s most powerful asset… is a multi-disciplinary team of diverse, competent people. The work proposed here will help NASA’s planetary science workforce to become more diverse and equitable.

The goal of this project is to quantify trends in diversity within the NASA planetary mission and research portfolio and execute strategies to enrich that diversity in the near future. Successful strategies must address any barriers hindering strong diversity in NASA’s planetary science portfolio. To accomplish this goal we propose three main tasks: 1. Expand demographic studies of women and other underrepresented groups in measures of success such as selection on spacecraft mission teams and R&A proposals; 2. Conduct a new survey of the planetary science workforce, improving upon the 2011 study; 3.Work with social scientists to determine possible policy changes that can increase participation of women and other underrepresented groups in planetary science.