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As a current woman on the tenure track in a STEM discipline, serving on the DEI Research Advisory Council is an excellent opportunity for me to bring a voice to the conversation centered on equity and inclusion in STEM research.
According to the National Science Foundation National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics in 2019, women represented 57.3 % of undergraduates but only 38.6% of STEM undergraduates (1,2). The statistics get more staggering as you climb up the academic ladder, with only 28.2 % of tenured STEM faculty reported in 2019 being women (1,2). Astonishingly, only 1.4 % Black women, 1.3 % Hispanic/Latina women, and 0.04 % indigenous women account for the average 28.2 % of tenured woman faculty across universities (1,2). A combination of discrimination, microaggressions, biases, and harassment are attributed to the perceived “leaky pipeline” in STEM. In addition to academic positions, there exists a significant disparity for women obtaining research grants, disadvantaging many women early on in their careers. At the University of Cincinnati, it is clear that special emphasis is being made to improve research experiences, engage diverse backgrounds, set up institutional advocates, and promote targeted mentoring for woman researchers in STEM.
Making conscientious efforts to improve the research experience for underrepresented scientists and engineers at the University is critical for advancing the academic mission to be at the forefront of discovery. The focus of the UC DEI Research Advisory is broad and incorporates a vast array of voices from across the college all working together for one goal: to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in research at UC. This a unique opportunity for UC to set the standard for DEI in research and will significantly improve the experiences of the broad university body.
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