ASPET is collaborating on a new project funded through the National Science Foundation’s LEAPS (Leading Cultural Change Through Professional Societies) mechanism. Entitled “Leveraging, Enhancing and Developing Biology (LED-BIO) Scientific Societies Shedding Light on Persistent Cultural Challenges”, this project will identify and promote evidence-based inclusion strategies to: (1) collect consistent demographic data of society members, (2) better integrate scientists in transitional career stages into scientific society activities, and (3) diversify the ranks of scientific society leaders. By fulfilling these goals, this project aims to address persistent challenges that frequently undermine diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within communities of scientists and to broadly share this information for the benefit of all scientific communities.
Scientific societies predominantly approach diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts by supporting the professional development of individual members who are from historically underrepresented groups in STEM. This approach of “fixing the individual” has not yielded more widespread change, and additional approaches are required to address the systemic inequities underpinning skewed demographics among STEM practitioners. The LEAPS mechanism views professional societies as key leverage points and agents of change, including structural, cultural and social change. Funded projects are intended to be collaborative efforts among societies working to broaden participation and create a more inclusive and diverse scientific community.
This Research Coordination Network (RCN) project will use virtual town halls and in-person think tanks to expand and strengthen a cross-disciplinary network of communities of practice. This network will identify evidence-based strategies to address three persistent challenges that scientific societies face as identified by the Alliance to Catalyze Change for Equity in STEM Success (ACCESS; see more at https://stemaccessforall.org/): (1) lack of data to track scientific society membership demographic composition, (2) lack of integration of scientists in transitional stages of their careers into disciplinary communities, and (3) lack of diversity among highly visible thought leaders, including society leadership and speakers in scientific programs. This RCN is coordinated by ACCESS and its member societies (ASPET, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society for Cell Biology, the Endocrine Society, and the Biophysical Society), the Quality Education for Minorities Network, the Marine Biological Laboratories at Woods Hole, and the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Alliance. The resulting strategies and standards will be reported and disseminated through open access training materials and publications. The work is supported by NSF award #2134725 and will run from January 2022 through December 2024.