Henkhaus NA, Busch W, Chen A, Colón‐Carmona A, Cothran M, Diaz N, Dundore‐Arias JP, Gonzales M, Hadziabdic D, Hayes RA, MacIntosh GC, Na A, Nyamasoka‐Magonziwa B, Pater D, Peritore‐Galve FC, Phelps‐Durr T, Rouhier K, Sickler DB, Starnes JH, Tyler QR, Valdez‐Ward E, Vega‐Sánchez ME, Walcott RR, Ward JK, Wyatt SE, Zapata F, Zemenick AT, Stern DB. Removing systemic barriers to equity, diversity, and inclusion: Report of the 2019 Plant Science Research Network workshop "Inclusivity in the Plant Sciences".
Plant Direct 2022;
6:e432. [PMID:
36035898 PMCID:
PMC9399870 DOI:
10.1002/pld3.432]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
A future in which scientific discoveries are valued and trusted by the general public cannot be achieved without greater inclusion and participation of diverse communities. To envision a path towards this future, in January 2019 a diverse group of researchers, educators, students, and administrators gathered to hear and share personal perspectives on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the plant sciences. From these broad perspectives, the group developed strategies and identified tactics to facilitate and support EDI within and beyond the plant science community. The workshop leveraged scenario planning and the richness of its participants to develop recommendations aimed at promoting systemic change at the institutional level through the actions of scientific societies, universities, and individuals and through new funding models to support research and training. While these initiatives were formulated specifically for the plant science community, they can also serve as a model to advance EDI in other disciplines. The proposed actions are thematically broad, integrating into discovery, applied and translational science, requiring and embracing multidisciplinarity, and giving voice to previously unheard perspectives. We offer a vision of barrier-free access to participation in science, and a plant science community that reflects the diversity of our rapidly changing nation, and supports and invests in the training and well-being of all its members. The relevance and robustness of our recommendations has been tested by dramatic and global events since the workshop. The time to act upon them is now.
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