MOST targets policy questions in DEI conversation and plans
Increasing representation among the next class of policy fellows and the board of directors is a key goal of a comprehensive diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) plan that Missouri Science & Technology (MOST) Policy Initiative is currently developing.
Executive Director Rachel Owen said the organization and MOST policy fellows are seeking clear steps to apply individually, as a team, and in the science community, as MOST promotes its mission to bridge science and policy at the state and local levels. (See MOST Policy Initiative’s purpose, vision, mission, and values here.)
Other science policy organizations and higher education institutions — including the University of Missouri — are also now examining and improving their DEI policies.
“We certainly want to be part of that conversation,” Owen said.
The focus on DEI is now a deliberate measure that MOST policy fellows explore when producing the organization’s Science Notes for policy makers. Fellows now make sure to review any policy impacts that might have disproportionate effects on minoritized and underrepresented groups.
The MOST DEI policy discussions, along with a nationwide focus on DEI, were spurred by the Black Lives Matter protests and demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. The conversation is especially timely now as the trial for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in Floyd’s death, began this week. Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
While the Chauvin trial also has potentially far-reaching implications on social and criminal justice, the ongoing focus on DEI and asking questions about disproportionate policy outcomes is also important for both science organizations and policymakers.
One case in point is the finding that the expansion of charter schools can disproportionately affect minorities as a form of segregation. Food deserts and environmental quality are other topics where inequities and disparities often occur.
“If there’s science out there about these things or if we lack information about the ways policies disproportionately affect different populations, it’s perfectly within our purview as scientists to bring that into the conversation,” Owen explained. She added that the MOST checklist for Science Notes also emphasizes avoiding political language. It is a fine line to keep in mind.
Another recent example of that responsibility is a Local Science Engagement Network (LSEN) blog about water quality issues and how environmental regulations, environmental hazards, and mitigation efforts can disproportionately affect low-income and minoritized communities because those costs are passed along to consumers.
“We’re not telling lawmakers they have to do something with that information, but they may not have that information unless they’re getting it from us,” Owen said.
Dr. Josh Mueller, MOST’s policy fellow for health and mental health said he asks these questions when he’s developing Science Notes:
- Are there demographic disparities in who is affected by this problem (we often see that low-income people, women, children, people with disabilities, racial/ethnic minority populations, gender minority populations, etc. bear the brunt of many problems identified by policymakers)?
- Does the proposed solution have a track record of reducing or improving these disparities?
“I think this is exceedingly important because thinking only about average or entire population-level statistics can obscure the disproportionate impact being felt by particular populations,” he added.
Mueller said his “equity lens” also applies when he is inviting speakers to participate in an event or seeking expert input on a topic.
“It is well-documented that certain demographic categories — women or communities of color in STEM, for example — are underrepresented and that this underrepresentation perpetuates further underrepresentation by a variety of mechanisms,” Mueller added. He explained that homogeneous institutions are likely to self-reinforce that homogeneity when considering new hires or invitations, and young people may stay away from certain professions or interests because of the perception that “people like them” are not welcome or well-represented in those areas.
“One small contribution we can make as an institution is to be aware of these tendencies and think broadly about who is represented in science policy,” he said.
MOST policy fellows joined Owen for book club readings of Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi and The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. Dr. Jenny Bratburd, the policy fellow for public safety, transportation, energy, and the environment, said the books trace how past practices and policies had racist outcomes.
“These discussions help us examine our topics with a multidisciplinary lens and consider how marginalized populations might be negatively or positively impacted by particular policies,” Bratburd said. “For example, the intersection of environmental contaminants like lead that are unequally distributed across the state has impacts on health and public safety.”
Recognizing those intersecting issues can then lead to insights on avoiding policies with disproportionate impacts.
Dan English, program coordinator for LSEN, commented that some of the institutional discrimination noted during the book readings were Missouri-centric. For example: Descriptions of redlining used Kansas City as an example, showing maps of different neighborhoods and how red lines were drawn around minority neighborhoods.
“I learned that a neighborhood I lived in used to be a historically-segregated neighborhood,” English said. “If I had lived in my neighborhood 50 years earlier, a neighborhood covenant might not have allowed me to welcome some of my closest friends into my home.”
Putting the DEI focus on MOST’s organizational structure and internal policies, Owen said the goal is to have a plan that gets sign-on from the board of directors to provide direction. The board of directors and advisory board, for instance, have diverse backgrounds and diversity of thought, but not adequate minority and ethnic representation.
MOST also has its eye on increasing diversity in the LSEN membership and reaching out to national groups and job boards with a DEI focus to recruit the next class of fellows. As a result, MOST fellows have designed an optional demographic survey for fellowship applicants that can identify potential biases in the recruiting and selection process.
“I hope that we can also use this to collect and analyze data on our partners and participants in our programming,” Bratburd remarked, “so we can hold ourselves accountable in proactively reaching out to diverse stakeholders in Missouri.”
Owen described it as “trying to add some checks and balances into our processes” for nominating and selecting board members, too.
The MOST DEI plan conversation and development is also a demonstration of an organization holding a mirror to its current policies and culture. Addressing DEI internally — and adopting a comprehensive plan to guide long-term policies — is important for MOST to help advance DEI for science teams and organizations throughout the state, she said.
There are myriad ways to examine and address DEI. Some are obviously more challenging. Some steps are less so. For instance, Owen and the fellows recently reviewed ways to make the MOST website more accessible to people with disabilities. Adding alt text to photos “makes all the difference” for someone using a screen reader, she said.
And then there are more complex, high-level opportunities. For instance, the National Science Foundation announced last June that it will include gender identity questions in its survey of the STEM workforce for the first time in 2021. A letter that hailed the NSF’s survey announcement was signed by directors or leading representatives of the American Educational Research Association, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Whitman-Walker Institute,
“We cannot reduce disparities if we do not measure them,” the letter stated regarding the NSF’s decision to include sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) measures in the 2021 National Survey of College Graduates and future National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
surveys to help quantify LGBTQ people facing disparities in educational and career barriers in STEM fields. The new measures are “paramount to resolving the challenges faced by the U.S. STEM workforce, while also highly feasible and with clear precedent in other federal agencies,” the letter noted.
Owen cited the growing number of organizations and voices now involved in the DEI conservations and planning.
“The goal is that we continue to move things forward and promote DEI in the best way possible,” she said.
