Large scale patterns in STEM demographics, 1970-2020: why so slow in the physical sciences, compared to biomedicine?

STEM equity policies focus on all science and engineering fields, but the range of change among them is stark. In many countries the proportion of many under-represented groups in biomedical fields is now higher than in engineering, the humanities, physical sciences, and social sciences, from undergraduates to full professors; the physical sciences now have the least. This presentation addresses the causes and implications of that disparity between the biomedical and physical sciences, as well as why some physical sciences are changing more than others, plus why policies do not address the disparity. In addition, new kinds of data collection are recommended.