AIBS Endorses Call to Study Racism in Science

The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) has endorsed a science community letter supporting House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson’s (D-TX) request that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) investigate systemic racism in academic research. On July 29, 2020, Chairwoman Johnson requested Dr. Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences, undertake “a rigorous and thoughtful analysis of the extent to which the U.S. scientific enterprise perpetuates systemic inequities to the detriment of society as a whole, as well as how those inequities are manifested.” Johnson called on the Academies to install a panel of experts to “assess the influence of systemic racism in academia on the careers of individuals belonging to racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in the scientific, technical, and medical workforce.” The community letter supports the request, arguing, in part: “While efforts to increase diversity in the scientific workforce may have produced incremental change, we have yet to see large-scale results. Across disciplines, demographic representation throughout the ranks of academia still fails to reflect the diversity of our society. We are hopeful that a comprehensive study by the NASEM will yield the data and tools that the academic community needs to pursue evidence-based changes leading to more rapid progress.” ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news