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Nanotechnology and the Challenges of Equity, Equality and Development pp 47–68Cite as

Potential Implications for Equity in the Nanotechnology Workforce in the U.S.

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Part of the book series: Yearbook of Nanotechnology in Society ((YNTS,volume 2))

Abstract

Based on her previous research on employment in high-technology industries, Sonia Gatchair projects that the nanotechnology research and development workforce will be largely male and disproportionately of European or Asian descent. Since the over-representation of white and Asian men is particularly concentrated in high technology industries and remains statistically significant even after controlling for education, Gatchair’s analysis suggests that just educating more people of African or Latin descent will not eliminate the problem. Echoing Smith-Doerr’s observations, she notes that the workplace itself needs to change; institutions must identify and eliminate processes of differential inclusion and exclusion.

This chapter was peer reviewed. It was originally presented at the Workshop on Nanotechnology, Equity, and Equality at Arizona State University on November 21, 2008.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Policy, Georgia Tech University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Sonia Gatchair

Authors
  1. Sonia Gatchair
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Correspondence to Sonia Gatchair .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Oak Brooke Way 1147, Atlanta, 30319, USA

    Susan E. Cozzens

  2. Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

    Jameson Wetmore

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Gatchair, S. (2010). Potential Implications for Equity in the Nanotechnology Workforce in the U.S.. In: Cozzens, S., Wetmore, J. (eds) Nanotechnology and the Challenges of Equity, Equality and Development. Yearbook of Nanotechnology in Society, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9615-9_3

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