





































 V38 N4 / 2023 

©2023 American Medical Writers Association. All rights reserved.  
ISSN 2163-5315

AMWAJournal.org     34

The AMWA Board of Directors (BOD) issued a statement 
in June 2020 acknowledging that health and well-being for 
all cannot exist alongside endemic racial health inequi-
ties. The statement emphasized that diversity is a strength 
that enriches AMWA membership. In 2021, the BOD con-
firmed the goal of creating a more inclusive, diverse, and 
collaborative environment for members and set a direc-
tion for enhancing diversity and inclusion efforts within the 
organization. In addition to the updated AMWA diversity, 
equity, and inclusion (DEI) statement,1 the BOD appointed 
a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Assessment Task Force. The 
task force was charged with analyzing membership data and 
gathering member input to help determine the current status 
of the organization’s D&I; identify deficiencies, needs, oppor-
tunities, and challenges related to D&I; and recommend ini-
tial strategies to enhance D&I within the organization.
 The task force developed the 2022 AMWA DEI Survey 
with the goals of gaining a clearer understanding of the 
existing diversity of membership, identifying current short-
comings, and recognizing how to build upon AMWA’s cur-
rent strengths to enhance the overall atmosphere of D&I 
within AMWA. This survey allowed the task force to assess 
the demographics of our members. Asking the right ques-
tions and offering members the chance to holistically share 
information about their identities provides AMWA with the 
opportunity to better serve their members and learn key 
areas for improvement.
 The survey was sent to 4,649 AMWA members, of 
whom 397 responded. The demographic data presented 
here identify some clear opportunities for growth, particu-
larly as relates to better serving members who are disabled 
and members who may belong to marginalized groups. In 
March 2023, the task force reported to BOD with survey 
results and recommendations. The scope of this article is to 
summarize the information on AMWA membership gath-
ered as results of the survey. Responses to open-ended 
questions and decisions to be made on the basis of the 
survey responses are not included in this article and will be 
addressed in future communications.

MEMBERSHIP STATUS
To ensure that the survey captured an accurate picture 
of current AMWA membership, respondents were asked 
to provide their membership status. Of survey respon-
dents who answered this question (N = 396), 98% (n = 388), 
reported that they were current members of AMWA at the 
time of the survey.

AGE
We received 395 responses to the question about age. 
AMWA membership is primarily aged 40 to 59, with 28% of 
members identifying as aged 40 to 49 (n = 112) and 28% of 
members identifying as aged 50 to 59 (n = 109). Twenty per-
cent of members were aged 60 to 69 (n = 78), 16% aged 30 to 
39 (64), and 2% aged 25 to 29, with 4% either younger than 
30 or over 80.

VETERAN/MILITARY STATUS
Of the 388 respondents to this question, 99% did not identify 
as a veteran or member of the US military service.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
One hundred eighty-five members (47%) hold a doctoral 
degree, whereas 34% of members (n = 133) hold a master’s 
degree. Nineteen percent of members (n = 74) have attained 
an undergraduate degree.

EMPLOYMENT ROLE, AREA OF FOCUS, 
AND EXPERIENCE
To characterize the work roles of AMWA members, 54%  
(n = 215) identified themselves as employees of companies, 
whereas 37% (n = 148) are freelance workers. Five percent 
are looking to enter the field, and 4% do not actively work 
in the field or are retired. The largest group of members 
worked for pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies 
(22%, n = 86), with 20% working in medical communication 
as a close second. Eleven percent work for a research or aca-
demic institute, 9% work for a clinical or contract research 
organization, and 7% work for a medical research education 

Results of the 2022 AMWA DEI Survey

Karla Haack, PhD1; Toni Willis, MFA2; and Jeanette Towles, MA, RAC-Drugs3 / 1Merck & Co, Rahway, NJ; 
2RTI Health Solutions, Research Triangle Park, NC; 3Synterex, Inc, Dedham, MA

TOPICAL FEATURE

http://www.amwajournal.org
https://www.amwa.org/page/Position_Statement
https://www.amwa.org/page/Position_Statement


AMWAJournal.org     35Results of the 2022 AMWA DEI Survey

company. Six percent of respondents work for a health care 
organization or provider, and 6% of respondents work for a 
nonprofit organization or professional society. Five percent 
of respondents work for a medical device company, and the 
remaining 3% work for a publisher or journal office (2%) 
or a government agency or contractor (1%). The remain-
ing 11% of respondents (n = 42) work for a different type of 
organization or client.
 AMWA respondents’ primary work interests or focus 
areas were primarily regulatory writing and editing (32%;  
n = 127) and scientific publications (26%; n = 102). However, 
10% of respondents (n = 39) listed their primary work inter-
est/area of focus as health communication/public health/
journalism/patient education. Fewer than 10% of respon-
dents selected selected each of continuing education, pub-
lications for professional audiences, promotional writing/
marketing/advertising/public relations, medical affairs, 
grant proposals, and sales training as their primary work 
interest or focus area, and 6% of respondents selected that 
their primary work interest or focus area is another type of 
medical writing or editing.
 Survey respondents varied in experience, but 46% (n = 
193) of respondents have worked in the field from 11 to 30 
years, with 23% (n = 91) working in the field from 11 to 20 
years and 23% (n = 92) working in the field from 21 to 30 
years. However, the percentages that do not fall into this 
group are still sizable, with 17% (n = 68) who have worked in 
the field for 0 to 2 years, 14% (n = 54) for 3 to 5 years, and 13% 
(n = 52) for 6 to 10 years. Finally, 10% (n = 40) of respondents 
have worked in the field for more than 31 years (Figure 1). 

RESIDENCY
By far the largest group (91%; n = 360) of respondents 
who answered this question lived within the United 
States. The state with the highest number of respon-
dents was Pennsylvania (9%; n = 33), with California and 
North Carolina also at 9% with 30 respondents each. 

Massachusetts and Texas each had 7% of respondents, or 24 
respondents each. New Jersey, Illinois, and Maryland each 
had 5% (with 18, 17, and 16 respondents, respectively), and 
4% of respondents lived in each of Colorado (n = 15), New 
York (n = 15), and Florida (n = 13). For respondents who 
lived outside the United States, the most common country 
of residence was Canada, with 50% (n = 17) of respondents. 
Remaining numbers of respondents are too low to disclose 
without potentially identifying members.

DISABILITY, CHRONIC ILLNESS, AND 
NEURODIVERSITY
Of 395 survey respondents, 17% indicated that they had a 
disability; the most common disabilities were chronic illness 
(43%), mental health condition (24%), and other (12%; details 
were provided on the survey but are not included to preserve 
the privacy and identities of the respondents) (Figure 2).

 Among 42 respondents who declared a disability and  
did not experience barriers to participation in AMWA, meth-
ods of accessing AMWA services included online (64%) 
(“internet,” “computer,” and “virtually”), other (14%), online 
or other electronic medium with in-person attendance  
(ie, hybrid) (12%), with help of accommodation or regu-
lation within their own limits (7%), with help of assistive 
device (5%), and via mailing list (2%). Of note, given that 
some respondents who answered no to having a disabil-
ity responded to this question (n = 11), there appear to be 
AMWA members interested in both online and hybrid for-
mats in general and who would benefit from accessibility 
accommodations even though they may not consider them-
selves disabled. Several respondents mentioned in their 
response restrictions/barriers to access, including expense 
(n = 2) or other barrier (n = 1). Several (n = 5) respondents 
also indicated that although they attend virtually when they 
can, they wish that there were more virtual options for par-
ticipation, celebrated the greater number of virtual options 
available in recent years, or noted limited options for virtual 

Figure 1.  Question 14: Years of experience as a medical writer and/or editor. 
Total respondents = 397.

0 to 2

3 to 5

6 to 10

11 to 20

21 to 30

31 or more

0 10 20 30
Percent Responses

Ye
ar

s 
of

 E
xp

er
ie

nc
e

17

14

13

23

23

10

Figure 2. Question 7: Do you have a disability? Total respondents = 395.

Yes
17%

No
83%

http://www.amwajournal.org


AMWAJournal.org     36Results of the 2022 AMWA DEI Survey

participation. Twenty-three participants who answered that 
they had a disability did not answer the question on how 
they access AMWA services.
 Among 17 respondents who declared a disability and 
noted that they require accessibility accommodations for 
virtual conferences, online learning, webinars, or virtual 
networking, accommodations included having available 
virtual/online learning opportunities in general (35%); tech-
nological options enabled for closed caption, chat, and/
or ability to control speed of or repeat audio (29%); other 
(24%); and copies of large-font materials and advance 
availability of materials (6% each). Similar to the above, 
some respondents who answered no to having a disabil-
ity responded to this question (n = 5), with an additional 
accommodation for diet-related concerns, so there appear 
to be AMWA members interested in having these types of 
accommodations available even though they do not con-
sider themselves disabled. Multiple respondents noted a 
need for accommodations beyond technology and physical 
space (eg, scent-free spaces, noise reduction).
 Among the 397 survey respondents, 5% indicated they 
were neurodivergent, with 13% indicating they were not sure 
if they are neurodivergent and no response for 3% (Figure 3).

 Most of the respondents who scored AMWA as 1 or 2 with 
respect to Accessibility and Belonging were disabled. Among 
respondents who gave low (1 or 2 out of 5; the scale ranged 
from 0 [poor] to 5 [excellent]) scores to “Rate how well AMWA 
is currently doing on” belonging, diversity, equity, and inclu-
sion, most respondents who rated AMWA’s performance on 
“belonging” as 1 or 2 (n = 17) identified as having a disability, 
and half of respondents who rated AMWA’s performance on 
“diversity,” “equity,” or “inclusion” as 1 or 2 (n = 29, 20, and 22, 
respectively) identified as having a disability.

RACE AND ETHNICITY
Over 80% of the survey respondents were White (n = 326), 
with 9% identifying as Asian American, Southeast Asian, 
East Asian, or of Asian descent. Members who identified as 

Black, African American, or of African descent were 5% of 
respondents, and 4% of respondents identified as multira-
cial or mixed race, with many identifying as 2 or more races. 
Six percent of respondents self-identified as Latine/Latina/
Latino/Latinx or Hispanic. Additional remaining percent-
ages were too low to disclose. It will be important in future 
analyses to evaluate associations between self-identified 
race and ethnicity and answers to survey questions regard-
ing belonging, inclusion, accessibility, equity, and diversity. 

SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY
We examined answers to the pronoun, gender identity, 
and sexual and romantic identity questions. Of 79 respon-
dents to the question about the individual use of personal 
pronouns, 53 respondents indicated that they use “she/
her,” 52 indicated that they use “he/him,” and 8 indicated 
that they use “they/them.” Additionally, 15 of 79 respon-
dents selected “I do not use personal pronouns.” There were 
some challenges evaluating this section of the survey. Some 
LGBTQIA+ people do not identify with any personal pro-
nouns. However, many of the respondents who selected this 
last option seem, based on their answers to other questions 
on the survey, to have done so either because they did not 
understand what personal pronouns are or because they 
were using the option to protest the inclusion of multiple 
gender identities. 
 When asked about sexual and/or romantic orientation, 
19% (75 of 397 respondents) represented diverse sexual or 
romantic orientations and 82% (n = 324) identified as het-
erosexual or straight. See Table 1 for the sexual or romantic 
orientations included.No

81%

Not sure
14%

Yes
5%

Figure 3. Question 9: Are you neurodivergent? Total respondents = 385.

Answer Choices Responses (%)

Heterosexual 225 (58)
Straight 118 (31)
Bisexual 19 (5)
Queer 16 (4)
Lesbian 14 (4)
Gay 11 (3)
A sexual or romantic orientation not listed here. 
Please specify:

11 (3)

Demisexual 9 (2)
Asexual 5 (1)
Questioning 4 (1)
Demiromantic 3 (1)
Panromantic 3 (1)
Pansexual 3 (1)
Aromantic 1 (0)
Biromantic 0 (0)

Total Respondents 385

Table 1.  Question 5. Sexual and/or romantic orientation or self-identify. 
Check all that apply.

http://www.amwajournal.org


AMWAJournal.org     37Results of the 2022 AMWA DEI Survey

 Regarding gender identity, 12% (n = 49) of respondents 
are transgender or gender diverse. All other respondents 
(88%; n = 348) identified as cisgender (or identifying with 
the sex they were assigned at birth).
 Additional information provided in the open response 
questions indicates the following opportunities for AMWA: 
additional work needs to be done to (1) refine the language 
used in these questions, (2) address safety and inclusion 
for these members, and (3) provide platforms for educat-
ing members on inclusive language. Additional analyses 
of open response questions related to AMWA’s culture of 
inclusion around sexual orientation and gender identity will 
be provided in a follow-up article.

DEI AND AMWA
Survey respondents were asked to rank 8 strategies they felt 
would be most helpful for AMWA as it works toward cultivat-
ing a more inclusive culture. The 3 top-ranked strategies were 
having diverse representation in AMWA authors, speakers, 
and presenters; having diverse representation in leadership/
governance; and providing programs and resources on DEI 
topics. Respondents were also asked to identify topics for 
potential resources relating to DEI that would be most helpful 
to them as medical communicators. The top 3 responses were 
resources on using inclusive language in medical communi-
cation, how to develop inclusive health communications, and 
health equity and health disparities.
 The task force is grateful to everyone who participated 
in the survey. We hope that this information will enable 
AMWA to learn how to enhance the overall atmosphere of 
D&I within AMWA.

AMWA DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION (D&I) 
ASSESSMENT TASK FORCE MEMBERS

• Emmanuel Bassey, MD, MSc, Vision Loss in Later Life 
Research Lab (VITAL), University of Western Ontario

• Demetrius Carter, MBA, Senior Vice President, 
Regulatory Services, Certara Synchrogenix

• Dean Colston, PhD, MA, Director of Social Media and 
Health Communications, A Flock of Scientists, LLC

• Gail Flores, PhD, Principal Writer, Encore Biomedical 
Communications LLC

• Karla Haack, PhD, Medical Writer, Merck & Co
• Cyndy Kryder, MS, MWC, Medical Communications 

Consultant
• Endia Santee Crabtree, PhD, MS, MLA, Senior Clinical 

Product Risk Scientist, Boston Scientific
• Jeanette Towles, MA, President and Owner, Synterex, Inc
• Shawn Watson, PharmD, PhD, BCPS, Senior Director, 

Clinical Development and Program Team Lead, Bicycle 
Therapeutics

• Vee White, BA, Owner/Senior Medical Editor, Vee White 
Editorial

• Toni Willis, MFA, Medical Editor, RTI Health Solutions

Ex-officio Members
• Katrina Burton, Program Manager, Public Relations, 

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 
AMWA 2021-2022 President

• Susan Krug, CAE, MS, Executive Director, AMWA
• Sharon Ruckdeschel, Staff Liaison

Author declaration and disclosures: The authors note no com-
mercial associations that may pose a conflict of interest in rela-
tion to this article.

Author contact: karla.haack@merck.com, twillis@rti.org

Reference
1.  Krug S. The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) 

announces new diversity, equity, and inclusion statement. 
  AMWA J. 2022;37(3):32. doi:10.55752/amwa.2022.189

http://www.amwajournal.org



