DIMP 2.0

Table 3. SUNY Optometry faculty by race SUNY

Optometry Faculty by Race Total (Without Residents & Adjunct)

American Indian

Black Hispanic Asian White

Other Total

% total

Total

5

4

24

71

0

1

105

Male

1

1

7

24

0

0

33

31%

Female

4

3

17

45

0

1

70

67%

% of Category

4.8%

3.8%

22.9% 67.6%

0.0%

1.0%

100%

Total (With Residents/ Excluding Adjunct)

Total

7

4

33

75

0

1

120

Male

1

1

10

24

0

0

36

30%

Female

6

3

23

49

0

1

82

68%

% of Category

5.8%

3.3%

27.5% 62.5%

0.0%

0.8%

100%

The gender balance in optometry has been another point of interest, particularly for faculty members who seek promotion and tenure. The proportion of female identifying faculty members has increased from 48% in 2016 to 67% in 2022. This increase is in line with previously mentioned increases in female identifying optometrists. The gender imbalance becomes more apparent at higher faculty ranks. In 2016, 50% of SUNY’s Associate Professors and Clinical Associate Professors identified as male and 50% identified as female, while 88% of Professors and Clinical Professors identified as male and 13% identified as female. In 2022, 34% of SUNY’s Associate Professors and Clinical Professors identified as male and 65% identified as female, while 81% of full Professors identified as male and 19% identified as female. This distribution may be reflective of shifts in the gender balance in optometry over the past 50 years. Although SUNY Optometry has made measurable movement towards gender parity since the DIMP 1.0, there is more work to be done. The racial and ethnic diversity within the staff at SUNY Optometry has consistently been higher than that which is reflected in the faculty (Figure 3). In the highest rank, Executive/Administrative/Managerial, the percentage that identified as Hispanic/Latinx has increased from 13.3% in 2016 to 15.2% in 2022. The proportion of Black employees at the highest rank has decreased from 16.7% Black in 2016 to 15.2% in 2022. The percentage that identifies as Asian has remained steady at 6.1% in 2022 (compared to 6.7% in 2016).

Table 4. SUNY Optometry workforce analysis by race and title

American Indian

% Total

Black

Hispanic

Asian

White

Other Total

total

5

5

2

19

0

2

33

Executive/ Administrative/ Managerial

men

1

3

2

11

17

52%

women

4

2

8

2

16

48%

% of Category

15.2%

15.2%

6.1%

57.6%

0.0%

6.1%

SUNY Optometry | Diversity and Inclusion Master Plan 2.0 | 13