Research Brief: Internships have positive results but do little to influence long-term diversity in USDA Forest Service

A growing number of student and recent graduate trainee and internship programs have been implemented over the last few decades as one potential solution to address the underrepresentation of women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in science and natural resource management institutions. However, data on the effectiveness of this strategy is scarce. 

A team of researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service and Department of Forest Resources Assistant Professor Michael Dockry, PhD, conducted a rare study on this topic, using information from a comprehensive employee dataset from the USDA Forest Service, which has the largest natural resource management workforce in the country. Read the full research brief.