Diversity Beyond Insects in Entomology and Allied Disciplines

Riding the Wave: Reactive Vector-Borne Disease Policy Renders the United States Vulnerable to Outbreaks and Insecticide Resistance

“…With a job market that is based on an ephemeral boom and impending bust, STEM desirability may not be high in the current climate ( Smith and White 2019 ). However, the severe imbalance of minorities and women in vector control-related disciplines yields a disparate environment, one that continues the same cycle of imbalance and limits the potential of the field itself because diversity leads to diversity of thought and diversity of thought leads to innovation ( Xu 2015 , Orfinger 2020 ). In general, minorities report fewer same-race role models, have fewer exposures to, and less comfort in ecology and evolutionary biology fields compared to non-Hispanic white Americans ( Thébaud and Charles 2018 , O’Brien et al 2020 ).…”

“…In general, minorities report fewer same-race role models, have fewer exposures to, and less comfort in ecology and evolutionary biology fields compared to non-Hispanic white Americans ( Thébaud and Charles 2018 , O’Brien et al 2020 ). In the entomology and parasitology fields specifically, the NSF found that only 2.3% of graduate students reported being of Black race and 4.9% of Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity in 2016 ( NSF 2019 , Orfinger 2020 ). Addressing this unequal access to higher education requires acknowledgment of and efforts to combat the driving forces of cultural, structural, and institutional barriers within the educational system, which is beyond the scope of this paper ( Abramson et al 2013 , López-Uribe 2020 , Orfinger 2020 ).…”

“…In the entomology and parasitology fields specifically, the NSF found that only 2.3% of graduate students reported being of Black race and 4.9% of Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity in 2016 ( NSF 2019 , Orfinger 2020 ). Addressing this unequal access to higher education requires acknowledgment of and efforts to combat the driving forces of cultural, structural, and institutional barriers within the educational system, which is beyond the scope of this paper ( Abramson et al 2013 , López-Uribe 2020 , Orfinger 2020 ). Similarly, following graduation, females in STEM disciplines are less likely to pursue advanced positions or remain in these careers for as long as their men counterparts ( Xu 2015 , Thébaud and Charles 2018 , Jasko et al 2020 ).…”

Towards Insect-Friendly Road Lighting—A Transdisciplinary Multi-Stakeholder Approach Involving Citizen Scientists

“…Furthermore, people identifying as being from white ethnic groups were more likely to participate than those identifying as being from minority ethnic groups, and participation by women from minority ethnic groups was particularly low [79]. Aside from the ethical importance of inclusiveness, the scientific process benefits from the heterogeneity of perspectives that various ethnical demographics can provide, widening the scope of environmental science in terms of perceptions and interactions between humans and insects [80]. Both articles discuss education as a critical entry point to environmental or entomological studies, stating that an investment in training of future entomological scientists is needed.…”

A new framework for assessing the contributions of professionals in the natural sciences

“…Although research in our fields has the potential to inform how best to protect biodiversity, the current metrics by which we assess scientific success as individuals, institutions, and as a broader scientific community neither reflect nor incentivize behaviors that would avert or mitigate the biodiversity crisis (see Gorneau et al 2022 for further discussion in the context of monography). Further, we recognize that we are in a societal crisis of justice and equity with impacts that reverberate within our discipline and that are amplified by differences in the way identity influences how professional activities are viewed (Corneille et al 2019;Jimenez et al 2019;Evangelista et al 2020;Miner et al 2019;Miriti 2020;Orfinger 2020;Maas et al 2021). How can our scientific communities shift to measuring and rewarding activities that we value rather than valuing and rewarding only what we can easily measure?…”