Careers in Science and Engineering for Black Americans

A specific demand for scientists and engineers who are members of certain racial and ethnic minority groups-blacks, Chicanos, Native Americans, and Puerto Ricans-results from the need of research and development per-formers who receive federal funds to show through affirmative action that they are equal employment opportunity (EEO) employers. Since the federal government supports, either fully or in part, at least half of the research and development jobs in the United States, the EEO-induced demand for minority-group scientific and technical personnel is large. In the past, the United States met any new demand for scientific and tech-nical manpower from foreign sources (1) and by increased output from tra-ditional internal sources (2). No seri-ous attempt has been made to develop and utilize the scientific and technical talents of racial and ethnic minorities. Less than 2 percent of the scientific and technical personnel is drawn from these groups, which comprise some 36 million people (about 16 percent of the national population). Federal research and development contractors charged with compliance with EEO affirmative action regulations find that the demand for minority sci-entists and engineers far exceeds the supply. Efforts to increase participation in U.S. science by members of these groups have been hampered by con-straints on entry and career develop-ment. Data used here to illustrate these constraints relate to black Americans: the inaccessibility of relevant informa-