ASHA Demographics

Speech-language pathologists and audiologists who are ASHA members are predominantly White and Non-Hispanic. Specifically, ASHA's members are comprised of individuals who self-identify as:

  • >90% White and Non-Hispanic (in both Louisiana and the United States)
  • 3.1% Asian (vs. 5.9% of the US population)
  • 3.6% Black or African-American (vs. 13.4% of the US population)
  • 0.3% Indigenous or Alaskan Natives (vs. 1.3% of the US population)
  • 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (also 0.2% of the US population)
  • 1.4% bi- or multiracial (vs. 2.8% of the US population)
  • 6.1% identify as Hispanic or Latino/a/x (vs. >18% of the US population)

Relatedly, only 6.5% of practitioners are bilingual (vs. >20% of the US population).

Clearly, these statistics reveal that the demographic makeup of researchers and clinicians in speech-language pathology and audiology does not reflect the communities that we serve. We acknowledge that this imbalance limits our ability to effectively train students, serve clients, and conduct research.

Source: 2020 ASHA Membership report