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.