INS 19-1 - Actions towards diversity actions and the Brazilian narratives of black representation in science

Thursday, August 10, 2023

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM PDT

Location: 251

Presenting Author(s)

MB

Marianne Bello

Ph.D. candidate
UERJ
Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Co-author(s)

CS

Caroline Souza

Center of Natural and Human Sciences, Federal University of ABC
AD

Arildo Dias

Department of Physical Geography Goethe-Universität Frankfurt
WO

Willams Oliveira

Graduate Program in Plant Biology, Federal University of Pernambuco
LC

Lis Custódio

Assistant Professor
Department in the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics of the Rio de Janeiro State University
PM

Piatã Marques

Professor
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, New York, United States
BS

Bruno E. Soares, Dept. of Biological Sciences

Postdoctoral
University of Toronto-Scarborough
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Black and other racialized groups in many countries have faced barriers for accessing and thriving in academia, especially in science. Despite efforts in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), academia still lacks racial diversity and representation. The consequences are that racialized students often feel unrepresented among peers and professors. To address this, we created the Odu initiative. Our mentoring program provides emotional and technical support to black students. Despite initiatives like Odu, overcoming racism should be a goal for the entire scientific community and actions should be taken not only by people of color.