Breaking barriers? Ethnicity and socioeconomic background impact on early career progression in the fields of ecology and evolution

Abstract

The academic disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) have long suffered from a lack of diversity. While in recent years there has been some progress in addressing the underrepresentation of women in STEM subjects, other characteristics that have the potential to impact on equality of opportunity have received less attention. In this study, we surveyed 188 early career scientists (ECRs), defined as within 10 years of completing their PhD, in the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, behaviour, and related disciplines. We examined associations between ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, sex, socioeconomic background, and disability, with measures of career progression, namely publication record, number of applications made before obtaining a postdoc, type of contract, and number of grant applications made. We also queried respondents on perceived barriers to progression and potential ways of overcoming them. Our key finding was that socioeconomic background and ethnicity were associated with measures of career progression. While there was no difference in the number of reported first‐authored papers on PhD completion, ethnic minority respondents reported fewer other‐authored papers. In addition, ECRs from a lower socioeconomic background were more likely to report being in teaching and research positions, rather than research‐only positions, the latter being perceived as more prestigious by some institutions. We discuss our findings in the context of possible inequality of opportunity. We hope that this study will stimulate wider discussion and help to inform strategies to address the underrepresentation of minority groups in the fields of ecology and evolution, and STEM subjects more widely.

From panic to pedagogy: Using online active learning to promote inclusive instruction in ecology and evolutionary biology courses and beyond

“…Given these data, it is not surprising that Black, Latinx, Indigenous and other nonwhite individuals are also underrepresented at the faculty level in EEB (Graves, 2019; O’Brien et al., 2020). Various reasons for these disparities in EEB, and across STEM fields, have been proposed, but racism, sexism, and lack of inclusion are driving factors (Kent et al., 2020; Miriti, 2020; North, 2020; O’Brien et al., 2020; Tseng et al., 2020; Wanelik et al., 2020). The history and narratives of EEB have been primarily shaped by white men as they were the ones who had access to resources and held positions of power, and this holds true across STEM fields (Carter et al., 2019; Lee, 2020; Zuberi & Bonilla‐Silva, 2008).…”

Ecology and evolutionary biology must elevate BIPOC scholars

“…These include, but are not limited to: discrimination (Eaton et al . 2020), financial barriers (Wanelik et al, 2020) and feelings of isolation within EEB (O’Brien et al . 2020).…”

Teaching and learning in ecology: a horizon scan of emerging challenges and solutions

“…However, early career ecologists report that more quantitative training in both theoretical and statistical modeling specifically applied to ecological problems, would have been very beneficial for their career (Barraquand et al 2014), suggesting that efforts in teaching quantitative skills for ecology should be increased rather than decreased. An additional factor reducing engagement with ecology is the lack of diversity in the field, which, like most sciences, is not representative of broader cultural and societal diversity (Holman et al 2018, Wanelik et al 2020). A diverse workforce is perhaps particularly important in ecology, which deals with global issues; practitioners need to have diverse cultural and societal norms to be able to constructively engage with those living on the frontline of where the issues are being played out.…”