Ten simple rules for building an anti-racist lab

Abstract

Demographics of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce and student body in the U.S. and Europe continue to show severe underrepresentation of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people. Among the documented causes of the persistent lack of diversity in STEM include bias, discrimination, and harassment of members of underrepresented minority groups (URMs). These issues persist due to continued marginalization, power imbalances, and lack of adequate policies against misconduct in academic and other scientific institutions. All scientists can play important roles in reversing this trend by shifting the culture of academic workplaces to intentionally implement equitable and inclusive policies, set norms for acceptable workplace conduct, and provide opportunities for mentorship and networking. As scientists are increasingly acknowledging the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in science, there is a need for clear direction on how to take anti-racist action. Here we present 10 rules to help labs develop anti-racists policies and action in an effort to promote racial and ethnic diversity, equity, and inclusion in science.

Diversity in science: next steps for research group leaders

“…With a heightened awareness of inequity in academia, faculty members are evaluating their responsibilities to foster diverse, open and inclusive research laboratories. In June, Bala Chaudhary, an ecologist at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, described common mistakes made by scientists when they begin talking about equity in STEM, and gave tips on how to build anti-racist labs 8 .…”

Towards diverse representation and inclusion in soil science in the United States

“… Reflect on your role within soil science and commit to building an anti-racist research group (Chaudhary and Berhe, 2020).…”

The Ecology Underground coalition: building a collaborative future of belowground ecology and ecologists

“…called new attention to the need for anti‐racism in STEM. Recent efforts towards promoting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in STEM include: (1) encouraging the scientific community to build anti‐racist labs (Chaudhary & Berhe, 2020); (2) promoting Black excellence in ecology and evolution (Schell et al ., 2020); (3) helping BIPOC students to engage in conservation science (Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at the University of Washington); and (4) supporting scientists who self‐identify as women of color and work in ecology, evolutionary biology or allied fields (e.g. WOCinEEB slack online community, created by Bala Chaudhary, wocineeb@gmail.com; or Halsey et al ., 2020).…”