Astronomy and geophysics still ‘overwhelmingly white’ and failing to attract more women, survey reveals

Women and ethnic minority groups are still significantly underrepresented in astronomy and geophysics despite attempts to bring about change over the past decade, research has shown.

The survey, carried out by the Royal Astronomical Society and presented at the National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2025) in Durham, found that “decades of initiatives to improve representation” have failed.

“Practitioners of astronomy and geophysics are still overwhelmingly white men,” the survey carried out in 2023 revealed, “and the proportion of women in our sciences remains stubbornly low.”

RAS President Professor Mike Lockwood said, “One only has to look at the history of science and mathematics to understand that talent can, has, and does come from absolutely anywhere in society, and our concern is that astronomy and geophysics in the U.K. are missing out on some of the best natural talent available to us.

“Until we live in a perfect meritocracy, this loss of talent will always happen—our job is to try to minimize it.

“We must use these statistics to shape our policies and strategy to ensure that our sciences allow individuals to realize their full potential.”

Among permanent staff, 97% of British respondents to the questionnaire across astronomy and geophysics were white, up from 95% in 2016. For comparison, combining the 2021 censuses for England and Wales and Northern Ireland and the 2022 census for Scotland indicates that 83% of the population across those nations was white.

Ethnic representation among postgraduate students is also very different from the wider U.K. population. The survey data indicate that, in 2023, 70% of respondents were British, and of that group 92% were white, an increase of 5% since 2016.

For comparison, separate UCAS data purchased by the Society show that in 2022 about 83% of placements in “astronomy” undergraduate courses (including those in areas such as planetary science, but not those covered by broader natural science programs) were accepted by white applicants, and 80% for geophysics programs.

“Overall, astronomy and geophysics remain fields with significant under-representation of ethnic minority groups,” the survey concluded.

The research also showed that the proportion of women professors and senior lecturers/readers increased from 2010 to 2023 in astronomy and solar system science, but among lecturers, levels were flat in astronomy after 2016. In solid-Earth geophysics, the proportion in lecturer roles decreased after 2016 to 19%.

Representation of women is higher among postdoctoral researchers than it is among permanent academic staff, at 28% in astronomy, 28% in solar system science and 34% in solid-Earth geophysics.

Non-binary respondents made up 3% of permanent staff and 1% of postdoctoral researchers, along with 7% of astronomy and 5% of geophysics postgraduate students (a single respondent).

Sexual orientation was the only area in the survey data where the academic community in astronomy and geophysics was found to be more diverse than the wider society.

Of those who gave their sexual orientation, 93% of permanent staff and 83% of postdoctoral researchers stated that they were heterosexual/straight (a fall of 2% and 8% since 2016). This is lower than the 97% of those responding to the 2021 Census of England and Wales.

Of both permanent staff and postdoctoral researchers, 3% described themselves as gay or lesbian, and 3% and 14%, respectively, as bisexual.

Among postdocs, there were significant differences between genders, with 24% of women stating they were bisexual, compared with 4% of men. For comparison, census data for 2021 (for England and Wales) suggest around 3% of the women and 2% of men in the population aged 25 to 34 are bisexual.

The RAS takes part in bodies such as the LGBT+ Physical Sciences Network, and supports the efforts by that group to assess workplace culture.

Dr. Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, said, “As children we all wonder about the planet we live on, other worlds and the wider universe. That undoubtedly helped many of us pursue careers in science, and everyone should be able to make that choice regardless of their background.

“I very much want to see far more women and people from minority ethnic groups working as astronomers and geophysicists, and we have to redouble our efforts to make that happen.”

The survey concluded that “in short, after decades of initiatives to improve representation, the numbers of women even entering physics, astronomy and geophysics undergraduate courses remain low” and astronomy and geophysics are still “overwhelmingly white.”