From: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group
The Eagle’s spring 2023 diversity report
The Eagle has released a staff diversity report for the past two years in our efforts to increase diversity and maintain accountability for members of the American University community. The results indicate a large decrease in the number of staffers who identify as male and an increase in gender-nonconforming, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual and disabled representation.
The Eagle’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group continues to meet throughout the semester and is committed to improving the diversity of both its staff and coverage. We know that the more we look like the AU community, the better job we can do covering it.
Staff diversity report
The data for the staff diversity report were collected through The Eagle’s spring 2023 staff acceptance form, which all staff members filled out upon acceptance to The Eagle. The form asks optional demographic questions about race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability and financial aid status.
109 staff members filled out the form this semester.
The percentage of staffers who identify as multiracial decreased from fall 2022, from 15 to 10 percent of staff identifying as multiracial.
This semester, the number of staff members who identify as white increased, with about 68 percent this semester compared to 66 percent in fall 2022. Both of these figures are higher than the amount of AU undergraduates who identify as white, which was about 56 percent in 2022.
Data from the acceptance form show a slight increase in Latino and Hispanic representation and a rise in South and Southeast Asian representation among staff since the fall 2022 semester. Meanwhile, the number of staff members who identify as Black decreased by 0.6 percent.
The majority of staff who chose to disclose their sexual orientation identify as heterosexual, and 44 percent of staffers identify as LGBTQ+, slightly down from 46 percent last semester. Among those who self-identified as LGBTQ+, there was an increase in lesbian, bisexual and pansexual representation.
The majority of staffers identify as female, continuing the trend from the past few semesters. This semester has seen an increase in gender-neutral/nonconforming staff members, from 4.8 to 6.4 percent, and a significant decrease in the number of staffers who identify as male, from about 24 to 16.5 percent.
The vast majority of staffers identify as nondisabled, continuing the trend from past semesters. Ten percent of staffers this semester said they identify as disabled, up from four percent in the fall.
The staff demographics show a slight decrease in students who receive financial aid since the fall. The percentage of staffers who are recipients of the Pell Grant has decreased from nearly 13 percent to nine percent. Half of the staffers who responded to the question do not receive financial aid, mirroring the statistic from last semester.
Most staffers major in the School of Communication, a slight decrease from last semester, with 74 staffers in SOC, 29 in the College of Arts and Sciences, 26 staffers in the School of Public Affairs, 14 in the School of International Service and four in the Kogod School of Business. This data accounts for students who have majors and/or minors in more than one school, which explains why the total sum is greater than the total number of spring staffers.
DEI spring efforts
Last week, the DEI group discussed stories we have published so far this semester. We also talked about ethical guidelines for photography, specifically ensuring that our photographers do not get too close to participants at vigils or memorials. At The Eagle, we believe that it is our duty to document important on-campus events through news reporting and photography as long as the event takes place in a public area. Our photographers will continue to take photos at events while being mindful of others’ physical space.
The group is also continuing to build connections with student organizations and affinity groups on campus to ensure that our coverage is diverse and representative of the AU community.
This article was edited by Jordan Young and Nina Heller. Copy editing done by Isabelle Kravis, Leta Lattin, Luna Jinks and Sarah Clayton.
