Removing systemic barriers to equity, diversity, and inclusion: Report of the 2019 Plant Science Research Network workshop "Inclusivity in the Plant Sciences"

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.

Keywords: diversity; mentoring; science; sponsorship; storytelling; well‐being.

FIGURE 1

Stories are used to provide a much richer picture of who a person is and may improve the feeling of belonging and inclusion at work. Workshop participants discussed the importance of sharing personal anecdotes to connect as individuals. However, not everyone feels safe in the workplace to share their story. Workplaces that make space to acknowledge and celebrate our personal differences can create a richer community and engender more workplace satisfaction.

FIGURE 2

Using social media to promote plants and science education. The workshop participants had a crack at developing their own social media hashtags to increase enthusiasm for plants and to increase a feeling of inclusion in science. Here, we display hashtags created by workshop participants. We encourage the use of these hashtags and recommend pairing them with interesting pictures of plants and people. Participants also toyed with designing memes (not shown). There are many plant memes found online such as “Plants have all the anthers” or “Things I do in my spare time: Buy more plants” (Fluellen, 2020) that have viral appeal with the general public and help to increase awareness of plants.

FIGURE 3

We have a responsibility to support plant scientists across transition points. Careers are journeys with many transitions (see “Pathways to Diverse Careers” 29, a training model that envisions plant science‐related careers as a flexible web of possibilities). In this figure, we indicate five transition points where mentoring and sponsorship can improve retention and satisfaction. Students transitioning to higher education and/or their first professional position need support to ensure that diverse candidates are hired into technical positions. As plant scientists advance to more senior roles, we have a responsibility to ensure that diversity is maintained and that traditionally marginalized people are present and well supported in leadership positions, as discussed in Recommendation 2.