Increasing Diversity and Inclusion in Science

It is increasingly clear that scientific careers are strongly affected by social and cultural factors and are not determined only by merit. On one hand, socio-economic conditions limit the access of large portions of the population to higher education. This aspect is particularly acute in Latin America and the Caribbean. On the other hand, various forms of discrimination and conscious and unconscious bias also affect career choice and progression, especially in STEM areas. This results in disciplines in which various groups are highly underrepresented. Underrepresentation impacts career progression and, through its self-reinforcing character, makes it very difficult to modify the status quo. Diversity has many dimensions including race/ethnicity, gender, disability and sexual orientation, among others. Active policies are necessary to change the current situation of inequality. The STEM community must deeply reflect and debate how to diversify its composition and then take appropriate actions to implement those changes.  In this talk we will present the main outcomes of the “Increasing diversity and inclusion in science” workshop where activities are planned to learn about the current situation at various levels, from the point of view of STEM students and researchers at different career stages to those of policy makers and social scientists. Although the focus of the workshop will be on gender in science, intersectionalities with ethnicity will also be addressed. You are all invited to attend what we expect will be a very participative colloquium that hopefully will yield useful ideas for future actions and policies.