Warden-Joseph Jared, Cook Courtney B, Bland Austin, Austin Jehannine
Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
J Genet Couns. 2025 Apr;34(2):e1969. doi: 10.1002/jgc4.1969. Epub 2024 Sep 15.
As of 2022, 89% of genetic counselors report being White, and 93% report being women. We examined diversity in genetic counseling (GC) program admission committees (ACs-who are responsible for deciding who will make up the future GC workforce) and student cohorts to understand the impact of recent diversification efforts, and where future work should be focused. One representative from each AC of the 57 accredited GC programs in North America in 2022 was invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey to provide information on the diversity of GC ACs and student cohorts between 2019 and 2022 for the following dimensions: race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, neurodiversity, and rural or low socioeconomic status backgrounds. Members of 38/57 (67%) ACs participated. Using the Cochran-Armitage test for trends, significant increases were observed for the proportion of individuals of a racial/ethnic minority within ACs (from 9% in 2019 to 18% in 2022; p < 0.0001). There was no change for other minoritized social identities. There was no significant change over time in the proportion of students holding any of the minoritized social identities. A low correlation was found between the diversity of ACs and student cohorts. This study reaffirms the need for greater diversification efforts within ACs and student cohorts. Increased transparency about the social identities of AC members and about ACs' commitment to diversification may facilitate the diversification of the profession.
截至2022年，89%的遗传咨询师报告自己是白人，93%报告自己是女性。我们研究了遗传咨询（GC）项目录取委员会（负责决定谁将构成未来的遗传咨询工作队伍）和学生群体的多样性，以了解近期多元化努力的影响，以及未来工作应聚焦的方向。邀请了2022年北美57个认证GC项目的每个录取委员会的一名代表参与一项横断面调查，以提供2019年至2022年期间GC录取委员会和学生群体在以下维度的多样性信息：种族/民族、性别、性取向、残疾状况、神经多样性以及农村或低社会经济地位背景。57个录取委员会中有38个（67%）的成员参与了调查。使用 Cochr an-Armitage趋势检验，发现录取委员会中种族/民族少数群体的比例有显著增加（从2019年的9%增至2022年的18%；p < 0.0001）。其他少数化社会身份方面没有变化。持有任何少数化社会身份的学生比例随时间没有显著变化。录取委员会和学生群体的多样性之间存在低相关性。这项研究重申了录取委员会和学生群体需要加大多元化努力。提高录取委员会成员社会身份的透明度以及录取委员会对多元化的承诺，可能会促进该职业的多元化。
