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Research has a diversity problem. Many groups are underrepresented in research including women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and socially disadvantaged populations. Attention to the issue is growing, and some institutions and scientific communities are actively seeking to increase diversity. But far more needs to be done.
This collection of articles, a collaboration between Nature Research and Scientific American, focuses on the barriers faced by women and how they might be overcome, but also includes articles about the challenges encountered by other underrepresented groups in science. The collection highlights our long-standing commitment to covering gender-related issues and other aspects of diversity. We hope that this collection will stimulate discussion and build support for greater diversity in research and beyond.
Anne Charmantier reveals how she has learnt to be vulnerable and to share her experience of her chronic health problem with research colleagues and collaborators.
The UK BBSTEM initiative hopes that helping Black researchers to connect and support one another professionally will boost their representation in academia and industry.
Luciana Leite and Luisa M. Diele-Viegas are using their own negative experiences to research the impact of societal and family expectations on women’s career choices.
A childhood diagnosis of type 1 diabetes taught Olivia Favor about the importance of meticulous record-keeping and other skills that proved useful in the lab.
Many institutions publicly pledged their commitment to inclusion after Black Lives Matter protests this year. And researchers emphasize the need to maintain momentum.
Naheda Sahtout says being legally blind doesn’t fundamentally affect her skills, and argues that science needs to start a conversation to attract and empower more researchers like her.
Universities and those who work there must reimagine spaces, behaviour and processes to promote a sense of belonging for everyone, say Danielle McCullough and Ruth Gotian.
Diversity initiatives applaud role models but academics who are carers can have trouble relinquishing family privacy to share their experiences, says Sascha K. Hooker
Cheryl Watkins-Moore moved from medicine to business before she launched an initiative to help women, minority ethnic groups and immigrants to enter the STEM start-up community.
After the First World War, female scientists gained footholds in academia as well as industrial and government research, despite facing prejudice and many other barriers.
Aref Kyyaly fled the Syrian civil war to the United Kingdom with his family in 2014. Since leaving the country, Kyyaly has joined the University of Southampton, where he now researches the early detection of allergies. Nature speaks to him about his experiences.
Nature Research and The Estée Lauder Companies honour two initiatives to encourage girls and young women in the United States, Ghana, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Riley Black, who came out as transgender and non-binary this year, describes the challenges of cultivating diversity in a discipline with an ‘Indiana Jones’ image.
When ecologist Rachel Katz was offered a government job in a region with few academic options for her partner, herpetologist Sean Sterrett, a decision-analysis tool helped to solve their ‘two-body problem’.
American Institute of Physics study finds women gaining higher proportions of PhDs and faculty positions, but identifies a leak in the pipeline at undergraduate level.
Isobel Williams has an autoimmune disease. The support network that she co-founded is helping to improve life in academia for people with long-term health conditions.
Task force hopes that a report on boosting participation by under-represented groups will ‘pull the alarm cord to say we can’t continue doing things the way we have been’.
Scientists in areas that lack basic provisions — including dependable electricity, water supplies and funding — do research that has a high societal impact. Five people describe the challenges they face.
The National Science Foundation says institutions it supports must disclose when researchers are found to have violated policies or are put on leave pending investigation.
The United States is set to trial a version that will also cover race and disability, while other countries have already embraced the voluntary rating system.
Male scientists in the United Kingdom report teaching less than their female counterparts, while women and minorities tend to feel disadvantaged in their careers.
Materials research is poised to play a pivotal role in addressing the grand challenges faced by society, from engineering better medicines to providing accessible clean water and renewable energy. However, complex problems require diverse teams. Therefore, there is an urgent need to address the diversity gap in materials science and engineering, especially for women.
The percentage of women in post-graduate physics positions has stalled just below 20%. The most precipitous drop in women’s representation occurs between high school and university; however, women at all career stages struggle with ongoing cultural burdens and obstacles.
Ethnic and racial diversity are extremely low among United States citizens and permanent residents who earned doctorates in earth, atmospheric and ocean sciences. Worse, there has been little to no improvement over the past four decades.
Speaking at a scientific conference helps spread scientific results and is also fundamental for career advancement. Here the authors show that at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, the largest Earth and space science conference, women are offered speaking opportunities less often than men overall.
Fiona M. Watt at King’s College London Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine (UK) discusses how gender balance in the scientific community is evolving.
Safeguarding our lives online requires skills and experiences that lie beyond masculine stereotypes of the hacker and soldier, says Winifred R. Poster.
Gender disparities in science are well documented. An analysis of 1,224 recommendation letters from 54 countries for geoscience postdoctoral fellowships reveals that women are half as likely to receive an excellent letter as men.
Immunologists appreciate the need for creative approaches to tackle complex scientific questions, which can involve not only the use of novel technologies but also the experience of scientists from diverse backgrounds. Here, we highlight measures to prime for the inclusion of women and underrepresented individuals in science to boost immunology research.
The First World War ushered women into laboratories and factories. In Britain, it may have won them the vote, argues Patricia Fara, but not the battle for equality.
Although there is a keen awareness of the gender gap in the physical sciences, a healthy female representation has yet to be achieved. This article offers some possible explanations, in addition to strategies to more rapidly achieve gender balance in the physical sciences.
Omissions of qualified women scientists from major meeting programs continue to occur despite a surge in articles indicating persistent gender-discriminatory practices in hiring and promotion, and calls for gender balance in conference organizing committees.
Lack of diversity in study populations, research methodologies and the researchers themselves undermines the goal of identifying and understanding the full range of human behaviour. Medin et al. argue that this system of non-diversity represents a crisis for the science of human behaviour.
Chemistry education and research in Africa is challenging — a fact that is clearly reflected by publication metrics. Yet this is far from the full story on a continent that has youth on its side, a cultural link to chemistry through its strong interest in plants and indigenous medicine, and an increasing number of ways forward.
Women are underrepresented in the science and engineering fields. Difficulties in balancing family life and work have a big role in women's opting out of scientific career paths. Institutions and funding agencies need to work harder to reverse this disparity.
Neuroscience is not spared from wrestling with gender disparity issues. Progress toward more balanced representation has been slow, but improvement is possible with consistent and focused efforts.
Science, including the fields of ecology and evolution, must advocate a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and bullying. This means promoting safe workspaces in all contexts, and letting go of the idea that fieldwork entails special circumstances.
Chemistry research and education face challenges anywhere in the world, but more so in less developed — or less stable — economies. These countries and their more economically fortunate neighbours can all contribute to the development of chemistry and its ability to tackle local and global issues.
Despite much emphasis on diversity in the US, geoscience remains one of the least diverse scientific disciplines. If we want to achieve and maintain diversity, we need to make our work environments welcoming to a broad spectrum of voices.
No matter where you look in biopharmaceutical boardrooms, gender bias is evident. Is it so difficult to actually acknowledge this pernicious bias and actively discourage all-male boards?