Plant Science Bulletin 61 (2) 2015 Feature Article Enhancing institutions and research through human diversity: Reflections on diversity, inclusion, and the future of plant and natural resource sciences 1 (original) (raw)
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2015
Many research institutions and professional societies are looking to enhance the diversity of their members, employees, and scientists. To do this, their efforts often focus on recruitment and retention of minority employees and employees from protected classes (e.g., race, religion, sex, age); however, recruitment and retention efforts can prove difficult and do not capture the full potential of increasing institutional diversity. In this essay, I discuss how we can foster human diversity and improve our research simultaneously. Based on the literature and personal experiences, I suggest that increasing diversity is crucial to improving the capacity of our institutions to provide service to others. For this reason institutions should make diversity a core part of their missions.
Plant Direct
A future in which scientific discoveries are valued and trusted by the general public cannot be achieved without greater inclusion and participation of diverse communities. To envision a path towards this future, in January 2019 a diverse group of researchers, educators, students, and administrators gathered to hear and share personal perspectives on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the plant sciences. From these broad perspectives, the group developed strategies and identified tactics to facilitate and support EDI within and beyond the plant science community. The workshop leveraged scenario planning and the richness of its participants to develop recommendations aimed at promoting systemic change at the institutional level through the actions of scientific societies, universities, and individuals and through new funding models to support research and training. While these initiatives were formulated specifically for the plant science community, they can also serve as a model to advance EDI in other disciplines. The proposed actions are thematically broad, integrating into discovery, applied and translational science, requiring and embracing multidisciplinarity, and giving voice to previously unheard perspectives.
Editorial: Women in plant biotechnology 2022
Frontiers in Plant Science, 2023
Maximizing diversity promotes the growth and maintenance of vibrant, productive, and resilient systems Montgomery, 2020. This is true of both the biological systems we study and the human systems we work within. Unfortunately, diversity is rarely maximized within the socioeconomic landscape of scientific research, and many perspectives and identities remain severely underrepresented in science. Noteworthy biases and inequities exist in research communities along national, racial, class, and gender axes (
Guest Commentary • Plant Science, Racial Inequity & Social Justice
Tracking Environmental Change Using Low-Cost Instruments during the Winter-Spring Transition Season Providing teachers and students an authentic research experience that allows for a place-based understanding of local ecosystems and their connection to climate change
Research inequity in the plant sciences
Applications in Plant Sciences, 2021
Do all plant biologists worldwide have equal access to novel methods, enabling them to be equally productive, publish, and receive credit for their research? Or does reduced access to cutting‐edge techniques in countries with lower financial resources create an inequity for researchers located there? Such disparities and biases do exist within our discipline and must be addressed if we are to move forward as a more just society. Applications in Plant Sciences has taken steps to address this important issue of research inequity, as outlined below. We now call upon the entire botanical community—researchers, editors and reviewers, funding agencies, and publishers—to work together toward a more equitable environment for all researchers around the world.
Global disparities in plant science: a legacy of colonialism, patriarchy, and exclusion
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), 2022
The field of plant science has grown dramatically in the past two decades, but global disparities and systemic inequalities persist. Here, we analyzed ~300,000 papers published over the past two decades to quantify disparities across nations, genders, and taxonomy in the plant science literature. Our analyses reveal striking geographical biases-affluent nations dominate the publishing landscape and vast areas of the globe having virtually no footprint in the literature. Authors in Northern America are cited nearly twice as many times as authors based in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, despite publishing in journals with similar impact factors. Gender imbalances are similarly stark and show remarkably little improvement over time. Some of the most affluent nations have extremely male biased publication records, despite supposed improvements in gender equality. In addition, we find that most studies focus on economically important crop and model species and a wealth of biodiversity is underrepresented in the literature. Taken together, our analyses reveal a problematic system of publication, with persistent imbalances that poorly captures the global wealth of scientific knowledge and biological diversity. We conclude by highlighting disparities that can be addressed immediately and offer suggestions for long-term solutions to improve equity in the plant sciences. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We analyzed ~300,000 papers published over the past two decades to quantify global, gender, and taxonomic disparities in plant science. Our analyses reveal striking geographical biases that are correlated with national affluence. Gender imbalances were also evident, with far more papers led by authors with masculine names than authors with feminine names. Lastly, we identified substantial taxonomic sampling gaps. The vast majority of surveyed studies focused on major crop and model species and the remaining biodiversity accounted for only a fraction of publications. Taken together, our analyses represent an important addition to the growing conversation about diversifying and decolonizing science.
Diversity in Science: An Overview
ACS Symposium Series, 2017
In the last decade or so, many chemical organizations have recognized the importance of diversity as a means to enhance recruitment and retention of talent, improve marketing of products or services, and broaden the scope and perspectives for new ideas. Despite this increasing recognition, there is still much work to be done in order to achieve a fair and equitable workplace, where workers can each achieve their full potential. In particular, there is noticeable disparity in academia in career advancement, compensation, and attitude toward members of underrepresented groups (URGs), especially pertaining to gender, race, and ethnicity. An overview is given in this article, highlighting some key findings. More details can be found in the individual chapters of this book.