Too Many Scientists Spoil the Job Market
10th February 2022
In January, the American Association for the Advancement of Science released its 2021 annual report on diversity equity and inclusion, Nurturing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Scientific Enterprise. The message? Those who are non-white, non-male, non-straight, etc., are apparently being barred from exploring science’s “endless frontier.” Such a thing could only come about if the sciences were governed by a kind of Jim Crow. For the good of science, this needs urgent correction. The AAAS will point the way.
The claim seems odd. Women now constitute the majority of college enrollments; black people are, if anything, over-represented at elite colleges like Harvard (Asian students, in contrast, seem truly underrepresented); university science departments are very diverse; women and designated minorities are on fast tracks to positions of leadership and power in science and academe. So, where’s the Jim Crow?
Don’t ask. Science has sinned, and needs to atone. For our own good, the landscape of promotion and development of scientists can no longer be built around merit — that is a white construct, we are told — but around the favored narrative of oppression and patriarchy.
February 10th, 2022 at 15:43
When I went to college, I knew 2 black students between the chemistry and chemical engineering programs. By contrast, the Radio/TV department probably had 60% or more black students in their program. Everybody wanted to be a star, nobody wanted to spend 4 years of nights and weekends in the lab or library.