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August 2018
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
The 2018 President’s Address discussed
gender and racial/ethnic* diversity in the
geospatial field. The address covered
benefits of diversity and inclusion (D&I),
statistics on diversity in the geospatial
and STEM fields, unconscious bias,
solutions that STEM organizations are
implementing, how ASPRS supports D&I
and how individual members of ASPRS
can promote diversity in their profession-
al interactions.
B
enefits of
D
iversity and
I
nclusion
A short list of the benefits of diversity in
the workplace includes: new perspec-
tives, hiring for talent, better under-
standing of stakeholders and custom-
ers, stronger teams, more profits
1
and
levelling of the playing field. Teams that
practice inclusion derive the most benefit
from diversity because they value contri-
butions from everyone on the team. With
inclusion, everyone gets to be heard,
which facilitates collaboration, which
energizes the workplace, which encour-
ages risk-taking, which drives innovation.
Everyone does their best work in an
inclusive work environment.
D
iversity
S
tatistics
in
G
eospatial
/STEM
Figure 1 shows the racial distribution of
the American workplace compared to
the racial distribution of the geospatial
(surveyors, cartographers and photo-
grammetrists) workplace according to
the 2010 US Census.
2
In 2010 whites
held 65% of all jobs in the US.
3
The
disparity suggests that there is a barrier
for people of color entering or staying in
the geospatial field.
Figure 2 shows that in the US in 2010
surveyors, cartographers and photo-
grammetrists were 80% male. Women
accounted for 48% of all workers in the
American workplace
2
in 2010. The lack
of gender equity suggests that working
conditions in the field prevent women
from entering or staying in this field.
White
90%
Asian
2%
Black
3%
Hispanic
4% Other
1%
Geospatial
JOBS*
RACE/ETHNICITY
AT
WORK
ALL
JOBS*
Asian
6%
Black
11%
Hispanic
16%
Other
2%
*Surveyors, Cartographers & Photogrammetrists. US Census Bureau, 2011
Figure 1. Racial Distribution in the US workplace vs. the geospatial workplace.
SURVEYORS, CARTOGRAPHERS
AND
PHOTOGRAMMETRISTS
Women
20%
Men
80%
Women
Men
Figure 2. Gender distribution in the Geospatial Workplace.
TREND
OF
WOMEN
IN
SCIENCES
SINCE
1990
Physical Sciences
14
Computer Sciences
Engineering
12
25
32
39
22
‘90 ‘00 ‘10 ‘16 ‘90 ‘00 ‘10 ‘16 ‘90 ‘00 ‘10 ‘16
Figure 3. Trends of the percentage of women in Physical Sciences, Computer.
One of ASPRS’ Core
Values is: “Expansion
of a diverse community
of geospatially
literate students and
professionals.”
