Using social media to diversify science

Science blogging: The essential guide - Christie Wilcox, Bethany Brookshire, Jason G. Goldman 2016

Using social media to diversify science

Alberto I. Roca

The discrimination faced in the workplace by minorities is just as prevalent on the Internet. But at the same time, social media can be an excellent resource for minorities in science communication, giving a boost to voices that need to be heard and increasing access to mentorship and role models. Alberto Roca, developer of minoritypostdoc.org, will explain how minorities can find a bigger voice through blogging.

Life is not fair. Or just. Or equitable. Competition is the norm in life, and a science career is no different as one strives for resources, data, accomplishments, and recognition. It’s a lack of recognition that will strike a young trainee the hardest when the exhilaration of a new discovery subsides. A novel result must be communicated or one risks that the knowledge will be buried or (worse) disseminated by someone else. The common mantra “publish or perish” encapsulates this view, though I push the clarion call further as “communicate to consummate, else capitulate.” Do not let your science results lie dormant in the science technical literature. That’s what you risk when your work has no public exposure.

Broad communication via social media can bring attention to science and, more importantly, to the scientist. In the competition to establish and maintain a productive science career, recognition leads to more resources and opportunities. Unfortunately in this contest, the challenges for minorities are magnified either due to power imbalances or, by definition, because the majority outnumbers the minority. Here I provide examples of how social media can be used to diversify the sciences for the benefit of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields, such as African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans in the life sciences; women in computer science; and (South) Asian Americans in engineering leadership positions.

Supporting minorities in STEM careers

Fifty years after the Civil Rights Act was signed in the United States, the nation is still grappling with structural inequities suffered by ethnic minorities.1 With respect to STEM workforce demographics, the representation of African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans has not reached the general U.S. population levels of 13 percent, 17 percent, and 1.4 percent, respectively.2 Notably, by 2050 the United States will be a majority minority nation, with the Hispanic/Latino population alone reaching almost 30 percent.3 How do we encourage this growing minority population to be engaged in STEM discussions as informed citizens? One solution is for the nation to have more minority STEM role models. Social media can amplify the visibility and voice of such individuals.

I curate a Diversity Bloggers web page (http://www.minoritypostdoc.org/view/bloggers.html) that serves as a useful starting point for finding STEM minority scholars who post online. Some examples are scientist Danielle Lee, technologist Adria Richards, engineer Micella DeWhyse (a pseudonym), and mathematician Ron Buckmire.4 All are African American, reflecting the fact that many of the STEM bloggers of color I have found are from the black community. While much smaller in number, minority bloggers from other populations include Dr. Isis (a pseudonym), who is Hispanic/Latino; Cynthia Coleman, a Native American; Jeremy Yoder, who identifies as part of the LGBT community; and Viet Le, an Asian American.5 Minorities who want to learn how to blog and tweet about their science and culture could look to these bloggers as role models.

A sampling of posts reveals what these bloggers advocate. Lee is very vocal about holding black media publications accountable for accurate science reporting.6 Dr. Isis has written about gender discrimination against students and has advised white men on how to discuss diversity.7 Coleman is a communications professor studying how science is communicated in mass media channels; she has a special interest in issues that engage indigenous peoples, such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.8

Blog carnivals, which allow more scientists to contribute to online writing, can also be a resource for new bloggers. A blog carnival is a collection of blog posts by different authors but all on the same theme. A hosting editor will introduce the carnival theme on his or her own blog and then summarize the contributed posts, producing a mini-anthology. In 2009, while still a graduate student, Lee began the Diversity in Science Blogs Carnival as a way to celebrate past and current minority scientists with early editions tied to the celebratory events of Black History, Women’s History, and Hispanic Heritage months.9 Nine editions were published before a hiatus while Lee completed her thesis work. In 2011, I helped Dr. Lee bring back the carnival for another ten editions, all of which are archived on http://minoritypostdoc.org/view/bloggers.html#carnival. The reboot included new editions that highlight underrepresented populations who did not receive attention in the first series such as the LGBT, Native American, and Asian American communities.10 The Diversity in Science carnival topics were not limited to biographies of minority individuals. For example, editions were also published on issues such as the imposter syndrome and environmental awareness.11

The Diversity in Science Blog Carnival stories describe what minority students and professionals can face during a STEM career.12 The following kinds of stories can seed your own writing about STEM minority communities:

• inspiring personal or career stories about science leaders;

• historical narratives about science, scientists, and community dynamics;

• reflections about one’s own identity and its influence on one’s career or science;

• stories on coming to terms with being a minority in a majority environment;

• explorations of subpopulation identity issues in fields such as science and medicine;

• helpful descriptions of career and professional resources (such as websites, articles, books, events, funding opportunities);

• information on outreach and mentoring activities that allow one to give back to the community;

• advocacy stories and leadership opportunities;

• descriptions of work policies that promote an inclusive, “safe space” environment;

• reflections on being a minority within a minority such as a woman scientist of color;

• information on educating and building relations with allies;

• stories uniquely beneficial to a specific, underserved subpopulation, like gender identity in the LGBT community.

Becoming an ally

In a workplace context, diversity refers to individual differences relative to the majority (or power-wielding) group where, in this U.S.-centric STEM discussion, the dominant group is composed of white, heterosexual, able-bodied, middle-to-upper-class males. The differences typically relate to an individual’s identity regarding race, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, gender, veteran status, age, national origin, or other personal characteristics. In an educational institute, workplace, or community, the dominant group establishes standards of practice that affect a minority person’s perception of acceptance and inclusion. How welcoming does the environment feel?

Allies from the dominant group who are concerned about their community’s minority representation can support interventions that educate, recruit, and retain underrepresented individuals in a STEM career. A dominant group’s privilege would be extended (or checked) to allow minorities the kind of access to the community that had previously been impeded due to reasons such as historical injustices, existing discrimination, and other barriers. If a majority individual does not recognize his or her privilege as exclusionary, then this unconscious bias may prevent diversity efforts.

In the United States, STEM diversity interventions are commonly justified by two imperatives. First, there is a moral justification for initiatives that attempt to ameliorate past injustices to ethnic populations. The second imperative is a competitiveness argument that a nation’s productivity and sustainability depend on the full participation of its population, especially in STEM fields that contribute to today’s knowledge-based economy.

How can allies promote the careers and accomplishments of underrepresented minorities in the sciences? Attention could be drawn to diversity issues (interventions, advocacy, and so on) as well as to the minority scholars themselves as exemplified by the Diversity in Science Blog Carnival story ideas mentioned earlier. Let’s examine the case of the diversity action plans that are expected to be in place at institutions receiving federal funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation. For example, the NIH has inclusion-policy guidelines for scientific meetings as well as institutional research training grants.13 Blogging and social media can be used to remind the greater community about such goals. For example, Jonathan Eisen advocates for greater diversity among conference speakers.14 He calls out science conferences that have a low number of female speakers (#YAMMM means Yet Another Mostly Male Meeting), and boycotts invitations if the meeting organizers do not make adjustments to the speaker roster.

Another ally is engineer Suzanne Franks, who has been writing since 2006 at her blog Thus Spake Zuska. She describes herself as a “Goddess of Science, Empress of Engineering, and Avenging Angel of Angry Women” whose posts “offer the web’s most excellent and informative rants on the intransigent refusal of engineering and science to open their doors to anyone but white males.” Franks has long written about race and ethnicity, starting with a call to action about the lack of diversity in science blogs.15 Back in the early days of science blogging (the mid-2000s), her comment discussions were quite lively, especially when, for example, she drew attention to racist comments by James Watson about African people.16 Of course, the “ally” label is fluid because being a “minority” depends on the context of your environment or the topic discussed.17 Thus Franks can also speak personally as a “minority” when describing her working-class background and advocacy for the disability community.18 This ally-minority duality is what motivated me to adopt the personal motto “We are all minorities, so let’s help each other.”19

More generally, allies can question the lack of diversity within their own discipline, as was done by marine biologist Miriam Goldstein.20 The resulting discussion across more than seventy comments over six months included personal testimonials and intervention strategies by others. For example, Goldstein and the commenters noted that some expectations in the field sciences can impose barriers that not all students can overcome. Needing to have a car to reach a field site or participating in an unpaid summer research experience might mean that only students with the financial means for those “luxuries” will apply. Importantly, Goldstein’s post motivated Lee to publish her own diversity manifesto about why young minorities are discouraged from STEM careers.21 Lee describes three reasons why kids, especially from inner-city or working-class families, are discouraged from science: (1) lack of resources, (2) benign discouragement by well-meaning adults, and (3) active exclusion by powerful gatekeepers.

These messages about diversity by individual allies have been amplified by social media, and the resulting national discussions would have been impossible before the Internet age. Previously such discourse was the purview of local institutional gatherings convened by leaders in academia, funding agencies, policy think tanks, and other stakeholders of diversity. Social media has now democratized the ability of minorities and their allies to contribute to these policy discussions.

Allies can learn about minority populations from the advocacy and mentoring work of organizations that I call “diversity stakeholders.” I publish a roster of diversity-aware higher education professional societies and conferences that is alphabetically arranged by cultural identity for easy browsing (http://www.minoritypostdoc.org/view/stakeholders.html). Over sixty nonprofit membership societies and at least twenty conferences serve as a critical mass of individuals from each of these respective communities. Many are stratified by scholarly discipline, such as the National Society of Black Engineers (nsbe.org), which has over eight thousand attendees at its annual conference and so may well be the largest. I am most familiar with the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (sacnas.org), having been an active volunteer since 2003, when I launched the creation of activities for our postdoctoral cohort.22 The oldest of these stakeholder organizations were created in the 1970s during an “academic” civil rights movement. They created friendly communities where minorities could discuss their scholarship while celebrating their culture. Their annual conferences are a safe space where a minority scholar can let his or her hair down without being judged. For example, SACNAS members who are in the minority at their home academic institutions, and so may be self-conscious about speaking in Spanish around their academic colleagues who are not bilingual, can enjoy spirited discussions in their native language.

If you are interested in equity and inclusion in the STEM disciplines, I encourage you to participate in one of these diversity conferences at least once in your career. You can practice your ally skills by listening attentively and by withholding any tendencies to control a conversation. Also, you can earn credibility by mentoring students and postdocs—for example, by providing constructive criticism during a poster session. Becoming a temporary minority within a cultural group that is not your own will open your eyes to being an “other.”

As a sensitized ally, your blogging will benefit in two ways. First, networking with so many different students and professionals will allow you to diversify your sources when you need topics or interviews for future posts. Second, drawing attention to those organizations that promote diversity within the STEM fields will magnify their opportunities and accomplishments for the benefit of all. Unfortunately, most of these organizations are small, volunteer-driven operations that are taxed to their limit, especially in producing their annual conferences. These organizations’ communication channels are usually limited to just a website and email announcements; they typically lack a vibrant social media strategy. By amplifying the achievements of these organizations, allies can help them in the competition for recognition.

Minority scientists can accelerate their careers through blogging: keeping a blog can help them to raise awareness about their scholarship as well as about the social justice issues they find most compelling. In the absence of such communication, their activities might have only a local effect rather than potentially national or international influence. Publicizing the work of diversity stakeholders will also help minority trainees and professionals find support systems for career success. Through these actions, social media can help us prevail against the current inequities prevalent in STEM fields.

Alberto Roca is executive director of the nonprofit Diverse-Scholar. He is also founding editor of the web portal minoritypost doc.org, founder of the postdoc committee of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, and co-founder of the diversity committee of the National Postdoctoral Association.

Alberto is based in Southern California. Find him on his site, http://www.minoritypostdoc.org, or follow him on Twitter, @MinorityPostdoc.

Notes

1. Braden Goyette and Alissa Scheller, “15 Charts that Prove We’re Far from Post-Racial,” Black Voices, Huffington Post, July 2, 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/02/civil-rights-act-anniversary-racism-charts_n_5521104.html.

2. “State and County Quick Facts,” U.S. Census Bureau, accessed February 15, 2015, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html.

3. Jeffery S. Passel and D’vera Cohn, “U.S. Population Projections: 2005—2050,” Pew Research Center, February 11, 2008, http://www.pewhispanic.org/2008/02/11/us-population-projections-2005-2050.

4. Danielle N. Lee, “The Urban Scientist,” Scientific American, http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/urban-scientist; Adria Richards, “But You’re a Girl,” http://butyoureagirl.com; Micella Phoenix DeWhyse, “Educated Woman,” AAAS Career Magazine, American Association for the Advancement of Science, http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2004_08_27/nodoi.10925311399901543611: Ron Buckmire, The Mad Professah Lectures, http://buckmire.blogspot.com/search/label/mathematics.

5. Dr Isis, accessed February 15, 2015, http://isisthescientist.com; Cynthia Coleman, “Musings on Native Science,” accessed February 15, 2015, http://nativescience.wordpress.com; Jeremy B. Yoder, “Denim and Tweed,” accessed February 15, 2015, http://denimandtweed.jbyoder.org/category/queer; Viet Le, “Amasian Science,” February 15, 2015, http://amasianv.wordpress.com/author/amasianv.

6. Danielle N. Lee, “Getting the Science Right in the Black Press—Making Headway with @EbonyMag,” The Urban Scientist (blog), Scientific American, February 6, 2013, http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/urban-scientist/2013/02/06/getting-the-science-right-in-the-black-press-making-headway-with-ebonymag.

7. Dr Isis, “Shameful Gender Discrimination at UC Davis Veterinary School,” IsisTheScientist, January 12, 2011, http://isisthescientist.com/2011/01/12/that_b _on_your_transcript_is_f; Dr Isis, “The Straight, White Dudes’ Guide to Discussing Diversity,” LadyBits, July 5, 2013, https://medium.com/ladybits-on-medium/53aaf639fc0c.

8. Cynthia Coleman, “Return the Bones,” Musings on Native Science, March 3, 2014, http://nativescience.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/return-the-bones.

9. Danielle N. Lee, “Diversity in Science #1: Black History Month Celebration,” Urban Science Adventures!, February 24, 2009, http://urban-science.blogspot.com/2009/02/diversity-in-science-1-black-history.html; Suzanne E. Franks, “Diversity in Science Carnival: Women Achievers in STEM—Past and Present,” Thus Spake Zuska, Scientopia, March 26, 2009, http://scientopia.org/blogs/thusspakezuska/2009/03/26/diversity-in-science-carnival-women-achievers-in-stem-past-and-present; DrugMonkey, “Diversity in Science Carnival #3: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month,” DrugMonkey, Scientopia, October 16, 2009, http://scientopia.org/blogs/drugmonkey/2009/10/16/diversity-in-science-carnival-3-celebrating-hispanic-heritage-month.

10. Jeremy Yoder, “Diversity in Science Carnival: Pride Month 2011,” Denim and Tweed, June 30, 2011, http://denimandtweed.jbyoder.org/2011/06/diversity-in-science-carnival-pride-month-2011; Danielle N. Lee, “Diversity in Science Carnival #11: Native American Heritage Month,” The Urban Scientist (blog), Scientific American, November 28, 2011, http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/urban-scientist/2011/11/28/diversity-in-science-carnival-native-american-heritage-month-2; Sabrina Bonaparte, “Diversity in Science Carnival #16: Asian-Pacific Heritage Month,” UW SACNAS Student Chapter Blog, May 31, 2012, http://uwsacnas.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/diversity-in-science-carnival-16-asian-pacific-heritage-month.

11. Bethany Brookshire, “Diversity in Science Carnival: Imposter Syndrome Edition!,” Neurotic Physiology, Scientopia, April 30, 2012, http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2012/04/30/diversity-in-science-carnival-imposter-syndrome-edition; Dianne Glave, “A Scratch-n-Sniff ’All Shades of Green’ Blog Carnival,” Rooted in the Earth, April 27, 2010: http://dianneglave.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/a-scratch-n-sniff-all-shades-of-green-blog-carnival.

12. Alberto I. Roca and Jeremy B. Yoder, “Online LGBT Pride: Diversity in Science Blog Carnival,” Minority Postdoc, September 10, 2011, http://www.minoritypostdoc.org/view/2011-2-1-roca-carnival.html.

13. “Guidelines for Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in NIH-Supported Conference Grants,” National Institutes of Health, accessed February 15, 2015, http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-066.html; “What Groups Does NIH Consider to Be in Need of a Special Recruitment and Retention Plan in Order to Diversify the Biomedical, Behavioral, Clinical, and Social Sciences Workforce?” Frequently Asked Question: Recruitment and Retention Plan to Enhance Diversity, National Institutes of Health, last modified November 6, 2009, http://grants.nih.gov/training/faq_diversity.htm#867.

14. Jonathan A. Eisen, “Diversity (of Speakers, Participants) at Meetings: Do Something about It,” The Tree of Life, May 29, 2012, http://phylogenomics.blogspot.com/2012/05/diversity-of-speakers-participants-at.html.

15. Suzanne E. Franks, “Archive for the ’Race Matters’ Category,” Thus Spake Zuska, Scientopia, accessed February 15, 2015, http://scientopia.org/blogs/thusspakezuska/category/race-matters; Suzanne E. Franks, “Where Are the Science and Race Blogs?,” Thus Spake Zuska, Scientopia, October 20, 2006, http://scientopia.org/blogs/thusspakezuska/2006/10/20/where-are-the-science-race-blogs.

16. Suzanne E. Franks, “Watson to Africa: You’re All Dumb,” Thus Spake Zuska, Scientopia, October 17, 2007, http://scientopia.org/blogs/thusspakezuska/2007/10/17/watson-to-africa-youre-all-dumb.

17. Alberto I. Roca and Jeremy B. Yoder, “Online LGBT Pride: Diversity in Science Blog Carnival,” Minority Postdoc, September 10, 2011, http://www.minoritypostdoc.org/view/2011-2-1-roca-carnival.html.

18. Suzanne E. Franks, “Patch Hunky, PhD,” Thus Spake Zuska, Scientopia, March 13, 2008, http://scientopia.org/blogs/thusspakezuska/2008/03/13/patch-hunky-phd; Suzanne E. Franks, “Archive for the ’Making Disability Visible’ Category,” Thus Spake Zuska, Scientopia, accessed February 15, 2015, http://scientopia.org/blogs/thusspakezuska/category/making-disability-visible.

19. Alberto I. Roca, “We Are All Minorities, so Let’s Help Each Other: Introducing DiverseScholar,” Minority Postdoc, November 9, 2001, http://www.minoritypostdoc.org/view/2011-2-0-roca-welcome.html.

20. Miriam Goldstein, “A Field Guide to Privilege in Marine Science: Some Reasons Why We Lack Diversity,” Deep Sea News, January 24, 2013, http://deepseanewscom/2013/01/a-field-guide-to-privilege-in-marine-science-some-reasons-why-we-lack-diversity.

21. Danielle N. Lee, “A Dream Deferred: How Access to STEM Is Denied to Many Students before They Get in the Door Good,” The Urban Scientist, Scientific American, January 24, 2013, http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/urban-scientist/2013/01/24/a-dream-deferred-how-access-to-stem-is-denied-to-many-students-before-they-get-in-the-door-good.

22. Alberto I. Roca, “20/20 Foresight—The New Postdoc Programs and LinkedIn Group of SACNAS,” Minority Postdoc, October 4, 2010, http://www.minoritypostdoc.org/view/2005-roca-SACNAS.html.