Minority women in academia: K-12 outreach programs to bridge the gap
2022; American Physical Society; Volume: 46; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1152/advan.00178.2021
ISSN1522-1229
Autores Tópico(s)Health and Medical Research Impacts
ResumoLetter to the EditorMinority women in academia: K-12 outreach programs to bridge the gapDaniela Terson de PalevilleDaniela Terson de PalevilleDepartment of Health and Sport Sciences, Exercise Physiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky*Published Online:24 Jan 2022https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00178.2021MoreSectionsPDF (186 KB)Download PDFDownload PDFPlus ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInEmail The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2051 the U.S. population will increase to 400 million, with more than half of the population belonging to a minority group (1). This change in demographics is accompanied by an increased number of ethnic and racial minorities entering the workforce. Nevertheless, occupations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in life and physical sciences in 2011 had a Black and Hispanic/Latino representation of only 5.9% and 6.4%, respectively (2). Minority students seek mentorship from faculty with whom they identify, and this is an important aspect of recruitment and retention. In view of this astonishing disparity, several organizations and institutions of higher education have focused on recruiting and retaining underrepresented scientists. However, minority women still are leaving their professions.The documentary Picture a Scientist follows three successful female scientists on their experience in academia (3). According to the documentary, women make up less than a quarter of STEM professionals in the U.S., and numbers are even lower for women of color. One of the scientists, Dr. Burks shared her experience, as a woman of color, of people not listening to her in meetings and mistaking her for the custodian. Drs. Hopkins and Willenbring also shared their experiences about verbal, psychological, and even physical abuse and inequities ranging from lack of opportunities to smaller laboratory spaces. Dr. Hopkins is well known for her activism in gender equality in academia, and these efforts paved the way for the next generation of scientists, including myself. Yet, the disproportional underrepresentation of minority women in sciences is overwhelming.The 2017 annual survey of the Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology received responses from 50 different Physiology Departments in the U.S. (4). They reported that 51% of the predoctoral physiology respondents and 44% of the postdocs were female. A total of 945 also faculty responded to the survey. Of those, 72% were male; only 0.03% of them were Hispanic males and 0.02% were Hispanic females. Furthermore, only 0.008% of them were Black males and 0.001% were Black female physiologists. There were 13% male assistant professors versus 6% females, 18% male associate professors versus 7%, and 34% males versus 10% female full professors. Forty-nine chairpersons in physiology completed the survey, only 18% of them were female. The responses from the 2018 survey follow similar trends (5). Women are leaving academia because of the lack of support, opportunities, and mentorship. Forty-three per cent of new mother scientists leave the workforce (6). However, other reasons such as sexism and work-life balance on mental and physical health are prevalent (7).I have consistently organized outreach programs in K-12 schools since 2012 during the American Physiological Society "Physiology Understanding Week" (8, 9). Initially, I was probably also mistaken for a custodian, like Dr. Burks. I always started my visits to the schools with the "dress a scientist" (10), asking students "How does a scientist look like"? In the early years, children would describe a white man with crazy hair and a white coat. Eventually, over the years, their responses were changing to "a scientist looks like anybody else" and one time I got "Mae Jemison and a scientist looks like me"! Yes! These warmed my heart; I knew I was experiencing a paradigm shift. Girls in 2019 were much different from 10 yr ago. This letter is to encourage my fellow physiologists to continue with these outreach programs. We can make our field more welcoming to female scientists, especially to minority women in science!DISCLOSURESNo conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the authors.AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONSD.T.d.P. conceived and designed research; D.T.d.P. drafted manuscript; D.T.d.P. edited and revised manuscript; D.T.d.P. approved final version of manuscript.REFERENCES1. Colby S, Ortman J. Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 to 2060. Suitland, MD: U.S. Census Bureau, 2014, no. 25–1143.Google Scholar2. Landivar LC. Disparities in STEM Employment by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin. Suitland, MD: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013, no. ACS-24.Google Scholar3. Cheney SS. Picture a Scientist (Online). https://www.pictureascientist.com/ [2020].Google Scholar4. Mangiarua E, Lowy M, Urban J. Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology 2017 survey results. Physiologist 61: 175–185, 2018.Google Scholar5. Clay R. Money talks. The new ACDP report shows the changing reality for physiology in academia. Physiologist July: 25–28, 2019.Google Scholar6. Cech EA, Blair-Loy M. The changing career trajectories of new parents in STEM. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 16: 4182–4187, 2019. doi:10.1073/pnas.1810862116. Crossref | PubMed | ISI | Google Scholar7. Ysseldyk R, Greenaway KH, Hassinger E, Zutrauen S, Lintz J, Bhatia MP, Frye M, Starkenburg E, Tai V. A leak in the academic pipeline: identity and health among postdoctoral women. Front Psychol 10: 1297, 2019. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01297. Crossref | PubMed | ISI | Google Scholar8. Terson de Paleville DG. Physiology Understanding (PhUn) Week in a public Spanish-immersion elementary school in Kentucky. Adv Physiol Educ 43: 288–292, 2019. doi:10.1152/advan.00042.2019. Link | ISI | Google Scholar9. Terson de Paleville D, Harman K, Richards E, Jaggers JR, King K. Physiology Understanding Week in a public middle school in Southern Indiana: exercise and health. Adv Physiol Educ 44: 254–261, 2020. doi:10.1152/advan.00198.2019. Link | ISI | Google Scholar10. Shain M. Dress-A-Scientist American Physiological Society (Online). https://www.lifescitrc.org/resource.cfm?submissionID=4284 [2021 Nov 29].Google ScholarAUTHOR NOTES*Correspondence: D. Terson de Paleville ([email protected]edu). Previous Back to Top FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation More from this issue > Volume 46Issue 1March 2022Pages 190-191 Crossmark Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2022 the American Physiological Society.https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00178.2021PubMed35073187History Received 29 November 2021 Accepted 4 January 2022 Published online 24 January 2022 Published in print 1 March 2022 Keywordsminority female scientistminority physiologistSTEMoutreach programwomen in academiaPDF download Metrics Downloaded 420 times
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