One of the greatest strengths of the American economy is its diverse gender and ethnoracial labor force. Diversity helps to foster innovation and problem solving because employees will provide multiple perspectives and solutions.
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In recent years, many companies have increased their efforts to have a more diverse workforce, and in 2020 racial justice became a higher priority for corporate America.
Some industries hire and employ a diverse group of people at all levels of an organization. However, not all industries are as various as others.
The Most And Least Diversed High-Paying Professions
AdvisorSmith, a leading resource on small business, economic, and insurance content, produced its latest study that discovered which high-paying professions were the most and least diverse in the country.
Adrian Mak, CEO of AdvisorSmith, analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics data and examined 72 professions in the U.S. The occupations examined accounted for 28 million workers in the U.S.
High paying professions were defined as professions where the average annual wage was $80,000 or more annually. Among the highly-paid workers, the workforce was 36.6 percent female, 63.4 percent male, 79.1 percent White, 7.2 percent Black or African American, 11.4 percent Asian, and 8.7 percent Hispanic or Latino.
From the 72 professions, AdvisorSmith examined the gender and ethnoracial diversity among men and women and workers identifying as White, Black or African American, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino.
In the study, the occupations were ranked with the 20 top and bottom high-paying professions based on the percentage of the workforce's gender and ethnoracial diversity.
Medical Scientists Score The Top Spot For Most Diverse
The profession that received the top spot as the most diverse job was medical scientists. Medical scientists conduct research focused on improving human health and generally work in labs or offices.
There are currently 170,000 medical scientists employed in the U.S. and make an average salary of $97,650. The workforce's diversity comes out to women (51%), White (64%), Black or African American (7.3), Asian (27.85), and Hispanic or Latino (8.8%).
The top two and three most diverse professions were statisticians and business operations specialists. Both disciplines make over six figures, and women make up more than 50 percent of its workforce.
The statisticians' workforce was 69.6 percent White, 8.2 percent Black or African American, 21.1 percent Asian, and 7.7 percent Hispanic or Latino. The business operations specialists workforce was 75.8 percent White, 10.3 percent Black or African American, 10.9 percent Asian, and 10.5 percent Hispanic or Latino.
The Least Diverse Profession
The least diverse profession was aircraft pilots and flight engineers responsible for flying aircraft, helicopters, and other aerial vehicles transporting passengers and cargo.
The average salary for aircraft pilots and flight engineers was $152,610, and there are currently 141,000 employed in the U.S.
The workforce's diversity consisted of women (7.5%), White (93.7%), Black or African American (2.6%), Asian (3.4%), and Hispanic or Latino (2.2%).
The top two and three professions with the least diversity were ranchers and farmers and speech-language pathologist. Women make up only 24 percent of ranchers and farmers but make up 95 percent of speech-language pathologists.
Both professions had over 90 percent of their workforce as White. The rest of the farmer's and rancher's workforce was 0.9 percent Black or African American, 1 percent Asian, and 5.7 percent Hispanic or Latino. It was 3.9 percent Black or African American for speech-language pathologists, 2.2 percent Asian, and 6.7 percent Hispanic or Latino.
You can find the gender and ethnoracial diversity breakdown of the top and bottom 20 professions at AdvisorSmith.
