The STAT Diversity and Inclusion Committee presents STAT’s 2024 Diversity and Inclusion Report. Here, we share the self-reported gender and racial/ethnic demographics of our staff from STAT’s inception in 2015 through 2023, as well as our 2023 new hire demographics.
STAT’s Inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Report, published last year, is available here.
Snapshot of our findings
- Overall staff trends in gender and several racial/ethnic demographics in 2023 were similar to 2022. Female staff members made up 60% of staff in 2023 (61% in 2022). POC staff members made up 32% of STAT in 2023 (31% in 2022).
- The percentage of Hispanic or Latino employees decreased to 7% from 9% in 2022.
- The percentage of Black employees increased to 11% from 9% in 2022; the share of Asian employees was 13% compared with 12% in 2022. The percentage of employees who identified as two or more races remained consistent at 2%.
- Among new hires in 2023, 68% were women compared with 66% in 2022.
- The number of new hires who were POC increased to 42% from 38% in 2022.
Jump to: Staff Composition – Our Ongoing Efforts
Staff Composition
Terms used below are as defined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Data are self-reported by employees at their time of hire, and compiled by Boston Globe Media Partners Human Resources.
Gender
Like in 2022, staff only had two options for self-reporting gender identity: female and male. This is a shortcoming that we hope to address in the future to better represent a breadth of gender identities.
- The percent of staff who are female stayed relatively consistent between 2022 and 2023, going from 61% to 60%.
- Among managers the percentage was also relatively consistent, going from 60% to 59%. Managers are defined as employees who have at least one direct report.
“Editorial staff” refers to employees on the news side of STAT, including reporters, editors, video and audio producers, interns and fellows. “Non-editorial staff” refers to those employees who work on teams including product & engineering, business, events, sales and operations.
- Among the editorial staff, the percentage of female staff was relatively consistent from 2022 to 2023, going from 55% to 56%.
- In non-editorial departments the percentage of female staff dropped from 69% to 65%.
Race & Ethnicity
In some graphs, employees have been grouped together under the category “POC,” for people of color. This includes employees who self-identified as Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, or “Two or more races.” From 2015 to 2022, no STAT employee identified as American Indian or Alaska Native, or as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
- The percent of staff who are POC stayed relatively consistent between 2022 and 2023, going from 31% to 32%. Among managers the percentage increased from 20% to 22%.
- Among the editorial staff, the percentage of POC increased to 33% from 31% in 2022.
- In non-editorial departments the percentage was relatively consistent going to 32% from 31% in 2022.
- From 2022 to 2023, the percentage of Black employees increased to 11% from 9%; Asian employees increased to 13% from 12%. The percentage of Hispanic or Latino employees decreased to 7% from 9%. The percentage of employees who identified as two or more races remained consistent at 2%.
- For context, people of color make up about 41.6% of the U.S. population. About 6.4% of the U.S. population is Asian; 13.7% is Black or African American; 19.5% is Hispanic or Latino; about 3% identify as being of two or more races. Non-Hispanic/Latino white people make up 58.4% of the population, according to recent U.S. Census data.
- Hispanic/Latino staff are notably underrepresented at STAT when compared with the general population.
- In 2023, STAT hired 19 new employees.
- 68% of new hires in 2023 were female, compared to 66% in 2022.
- 42% of new hires in 2023 were POC compared to 38% in 2022.
Some values may add up to above or below 100% because all percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Employees with temporary assignments, such as interns and Sharon Begley Science Reporting Fellows, are included in our data. We also acknowledge that this report does not include data about sexual orientation, faith, disability status, veteran status, socioeconomic status or other aspects of our staff’s diversity. BGMP HR does not collect this data from its employees.
Our Ongoing Efforts
Diversifying our staff and journalism
In 2023, STAT established its Disability in Health Care Reporting Fellowship, and welcomed its inaugural fellow Timmy Broderick in early 2024. This fellowship expands STAT’s coverage of disability issues within health care, the life sciences and the rapidly growing health technology sector. The position was created through the efforts of STAT’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and with funding from the Commonwealth Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Selected stories from Timmy include:
The Sharon Begley Science Reporting Fellowship entered its third year, bringing in Deborah Balthazar to join the STAT team for 2023-2024 (Anil Oza is our current fellow for 2024-2025). The fellowship is designed for early-career U.S. journalists from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds, and has been funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative since 2021.
STAT also hired an equity editor, Lison Joseph, in May 2023. This position was funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and serves to advance race-related reporting at STAT, particularly within health tech coverage.
STAT has had an employee-run Diversity and Inclusion Committee since 2020. This group of about a dozen volunteers meets twice a month, and is tasked with helping STAT create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
In 2023, the D&I Committee’s projects included: Helping launch the Disability in Health Care Reporting Fellowship, choosing recipients of diversity scholarships to attend STAT Summits, and compiling and publishing this diversity report.
Telling the stories of underrepresented voices
STAT’s coverage of health equity and diversity in health care has continued to garner national recognition:
STAT’s team of reporters and editors is committed to covering matters of diversity, equity and inclusion across all beats. Some examples of this vital coverage from 2023 include:
Interested in working here?
Check out our open positions or learn more about our internship and fellowship opportunities.
Credits
This report was created by the 2023-2024 STAT Diversity and Inclusion Committee, with design by Julia Bujalski. Alexander Spinelli and Nicholas St. Fleur co-chair the committee. Other members include: Sango Amolo, Julia Baker, Becca Balmir (HR), Isabella Cueto, Nohely Flores, Olivia Goldhill, Edlyn Gulama, Lison Joseph, Sydney Klein, Lizzy Lawrence, Jesse McQuarters, Annalisa Merelli, Rose Montera, Katie Palmer, Noel Sinozich, and Sarah Todd.