The analysis is conducted using restricted-use data from SESTAT, the the most comprehensive dataset on the scientific workforce in the United States, for the years 1993, 2003, and 2010. SESTAT is an integrated dataset comprised of data from the NSCG, NSRCG, and SDR. A particular advantage of SESTAT data is that they include scientists who received their PhDs abroad (the stand-alone SDR does not). They also include rich information about job preferences (e.g. pay and promotion, work-family balance) for all respondents and reasons for job change (where relevant). The restricted-use SESTAT data permit us to undertake longitudinal analysis. Among the distinguishing aspects of this work, we use an occupation-based definition of the biomedical workforce rather than using field of study (NIH, 2012). We further zero-in on those doing research as a primary or secondary activity. By using an occupation-based definition, we are able to look “backward” to field of training. Our definition of the workforce includes those with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees as well as those with PhDs. Finally, we look at biomedical researchers employed in all sectors, not just academia.
We analyze cross-section trends for the period 1993 to 2010 and then exploit the longitudinal nature of the data to look at employment paths of those identified as biomedical researchers in 2003. Among the findings, a larger fraction of female biomedical researchers have interdisciplinary training (as measured by trained in the social sciences) as compared to their male counterparts, and this difference has grown. In terms of retention, we find that after a 7-year period (2003 to 2010), 65% percent of women switched out of research-oriented biomedical positions versus 58% of men. We are now conducting a more detailed analysis of factors associated with retention using OLS/logit.