COS 196-4 - CANCELLED - Rethinking the undergraduate textbook as a tool to build a diverse scientific community

Abstract: Persistent lack of diversity continues to plague scientific fields, limiting creative potential. Individual-centered interventions to increase diversity have largely failed, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the culture of STEM disciplines is a key part of the problem in retaining diverse scientists at all levels. Undergraduate education is a key time period when students consider their sense of belonging within their chosen fields and when the cultural norms of those fields are communicated to them, which has downstream impacts on who persists in a field. Textbooks are the most broadly used and frequently updated media to communicate scientific norms and values to students. Using data from the field of ecology spanning two decades, we find almost no change in textbook content related to representation of diverse scientists and the cultural context in which science is conducted. Despite broader efforts to address the lack of diversity in science, textbooks continue to portray scientists as predominantly white men. First authorship by women in ecological scientific journals has increased steadily since 1970 to ~35% in recent years, yet only 10.5% of working scientists named in textbooks were identified as women. Textbook images overrepresented white men as actively engaged scientists while women and individuals of color are overrepresented in passive, non-scientific roles. Content related to how cultural norms and values shape the practice of science continues to be absent. Not a single textbook discussed how scientists themselves inherently add bias and subjectivity to the scientific process or acknowledged that societal norms influence which scientific questions are asked, funded, or how they are answered. Textbooks have changed exceedingly slowly relative to the changing demographics of the field and the priority placed on increasing diversity and inclusivity in recent decades. Highlighting important research and contributions to the field by women, gender-diverse scientists, and scientists of color is becoming easier both because the contributions of these groups are becoming more numerous and because historically underrecognized contributions to science are being revealed. Explicitly discussing the history of exclusion in science and how the scientific process is influenced by cultural norms will help students contextualize the scientists and types of science that are represented. Including and encouraging diverse perspectives in science supports the recruitment and retention of more scientists, increases scientific creativity, and leads to better scientific outcomes needed to solve the challenges of the present moment.