Diversity Statements in STEM Faculty Job Applications

Diversity statements are becoming increasingly popular components of faculty application packages, yet there are relatively few studies that address how effective they are to improving hiring of faculty from traditionally excluded identities. Some findings indicate requiring diversity statements leads to more diverse applicant pools and less "white-washing" of documents by applicants, yet this does not increase the yield; thus, pointing to the need to address equity – not just diversity – in recruiting and hiring processes. There is also little known about how – or if – the practice of requiring diversity statements varies by institution type. This work-in-progress paper is part of a larger-scale study being conducted to understand equity in STEM faculty hiring, with a focus on race-based outcomes. In Fall 2021, the authors launched a nationwide survey to capture perspectives on STEM faculty hiring from current faculty. Respondents were STEM faculty from various types of four-year institutions – research institutions, predominately undergraduate institutions, Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), public universities, and private universities – all of whom have served on faculty search committees. As a first step toward learning about how search committee members evaluate diversity statements, this paper will present preliminary analyses that answer the questions: (1) How prevalent are diversity statement requirements for STEM faculty jobs? (2) Does this differ by discipline and/or institution characteristics (i.e., Carnegie Classification, MSI status)? (3) To what extent do universities equip search committees to evaluate diversity statements? Future work will include analyses of how STEM faculty search committee members evaluate diversity statements, namely, the factors that contribute to their positive evaluations.