Why Diversity Matters Among Those Who Study Diversity

BY ADDRESSING RETENTION OF BIPOC, THE ENTIRE DISCIPLINE OF ENTOMOLOGY WILL BENEFIT. Systemic racism is pervasive in society, and it influences the lives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in often fatal ways (Sinyangwe and McKesson 2020). Academics often assume that intellectual venues function outside of society in terms of race and that academia is therefore unbiased; see Staples (1984) for a discussion of this myth and about anti-Black racism in academia. However, implicit biases are commonplace in higher academia (e.g., Staples 1984, Pritlove et al. 2019, Eaton et al. 2020) and have a profound effect on recruitment and retention of BIPOC researchers (Alexander and Hermann 2016). Several factors influence the retention of BIPOC in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields after they enter graduate school or professional positions: alienation, micro- and macro-aggressions by colleagues, systemic inequalities in access to education, and lack of institutional support (Salazar et al. 2004, Vasquez and Jones 2006, Sue et al. 2007, Williamson 2010). Further, many systemic practices actively decrease opportunities for and participation by BIPOC; e.g., gate-keeper courses and biased standardized testing (Rosenberg et al. 2018). These factors, and others, have led to dramatically lower numbers of people of color in STEM. Finally, because science does not occur in a vacuum, systemic inequalities in broader society—e.g., geographic segregation, disparities in social mobility, racial gerrymandering (Feagin 2006)—may also lead to inequalities in academia. Non-White professors are rare across all disciplines, but they are even rarer in STEM (Table 1; McFarland et al. 2019). The number of BIPOC employed as professional entomologists and honored for their entomological work is consistently low across marginalized ethnic groups. Fewer than 100 African Americans identify themselves as entomologists (Smith et al. 2014), and groups of non-White researchers comprise less than 10% each of membership of the Entomological Society of America (African = 0.97%, African American = 1.71%, Asian = 9.7%, Hispanic = 6.69%, Native American = 0.6%; ESA, pers. comm). Faculty representation, based on Li and Koedel (2017) and McFarland et al. (2019). 1When compared across all disciplines, data for Pacific Islanders/Native Kanaka Maoli were combined with Asian statistics; for the data on biological faculty, they were not combined, and Pacific Islanders/Native Kanaka Maoli made up less than 0.1% of biology faculty. Entomology is the study of the most diverse group of animals, yet the human diversity in our field is low compared with demographics of society and other science disciplines. Such lack of diversity in entomology is likely due to challenges that BIPOC face, rather than to a lack of interest (Morales and Jacobson 2020, O’Brien et al. 2020). Black and Latinx (Hispanic and Latin American) entomologists generally agree that efforts should be made to recruit more BIPOC in entomology through targeted outreach and education (Abramson et al. 2013). George Washington Carver (1864-1943) Why should we care that the profession of entomology is not diverse? First, lack of diversity limits our science. Teams composed of people from historically underrepresented groups are more likely to be innovative (Page 2007, Intemann 2009) but are less likely to be rewarded for that innovation (Hofstra et al. 2020). Second, lack of human diversity limits inclusivity in our scientific community. Acceptance of a lack of diversity by colleagues further marginalizes entomologists from already marginalized groups. Third, lack of human diversity harms our teaching. Ignoring equitable teaching methods does not just negatively impact students of color; this results in students of all races receiving worse education than if these methods were considered (Prince 2004, Haak et al. 2011). Thus, by addressing retention of BIPOC, the entire discipline of entomology will benefit. In this article, we discuss what is known about the demographics of students in entomology, what universities and colleges are currently doing in terms of recruitment and retention of BIPOC, and suggestions to create a more inclusive entomological community. To determine levels of representation among racial and gender groupings, we collected demographic data on graduate enrollment through the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) and National Science Foundation (NSF). Demographic categories recorded were male, female, White, Black, Asian, Latinx, and (where available) American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Kanaka Māoli/Pacific Islander, and other multiethnic groups. In the future, broader sexual and gender identities and more specific racial categories (e.g., differentiating between East Asian and South Asian) should be included, but presently these data are not recorded by NCSES or NSF. We recorded data representing entomology and parasitology, their two parent categories (biological sciences; science and engineering), and six other disciplines (ecology, genetics, physiology, mathematics, physics, and psychology) for comparison. We recorded general population demographics for the U.S. as a baseline comparison (U.S. Census Bureau 2018). We expressed all graduate student demographic data as a proportion of the total population in each discipline and subtracted that from the proportion of the population demographic from the total U.S. population. These were plotted with custom graphics scripts in software package Mathematica v.12 (Wolfram Research 2020b). It is possible that there are geographical challenges to recruiting and retaining diverse entomologists due to historical racism and present systemic practices. To assess this, we collected information about the location of universities with entomology departments or departments producing graduate students in entomology-related disciplines, and we then compared them to all U.S. institutions. To populate the former list, we relied exclusively on the entomology graduate-degree programs listed by the ESA (https://www.entsoc.org/resources/education/colleges). We also obtained a list of all U.S. institutions of higher education from the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (U.S. Department of Education 2020). We determined the city and state of each institution and collected demographic information for all localities. Specifically, we collected the population of White, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian researchers for each locality using data aggregated from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources via Wolfram Alpha (Wolfram Research 2020a). These values were then expressed as percentages, compared with proportions of the same demographics in the general population, and plotted. To assess other sources of racial disparities in entomology, we distributed a survey for entomology and related academic departments in the U.S. and Canada. To describe the institutions responding, the survey assessed basic departmental demographic data and aggregate information about the institution’s student body. We also collected information about principal investigator outreach efforts, programs aimed at recruiting underrepresented groups, field courses, pedagogical methods, financial support for graduate students, and faculty age. To identify historical trends of inclusion, we compiled a list of when entomology (or related) departments were founded and the years when they graduated their first BIPOC in entomology (or in related departments). We plotted the timeline of the foundation of departments versus the year that the first Ph.D. students of color earned their degrees. We contacted 72 departments, but we were able to acquire data for only 10. Underrepresentation of BIPOC Ph.D. and M.S. students in entomology. Although underrepresentation of people of color is widespread across the graduate population of biological sciences, it is particularly acute in entomology/parasitology and ecology (Fig. 1A). Interestingly, we found that gender disparities did not compound this problem; female students were equally or more highly represented than their male counterparts. Yet, the distribution of women in science is known to be bottom-heavy, with fewer women than men in higher academic positions (Blickenstaff 2005). The NSF (2017) data show a steady decline in the number of all non-White and non-Asian women who are enrolled in biological sciences from the undergraduate to professional employment levels (Fig. 1B). Race and gender across disciplines. (A) Intersection of race and gender representation across STEM graduate students. Radius of grey circles = value if the proportion of students in that field is equal to general population. Left halves show male representation, and right halves show female representation. Data on Asians are omitted because their overrepresentation could not be meaningfully displayed. (B) Racial representation of women in STEM, from undergraduate degree to employment in biological sciences. While White female proportions increase throughout higher education, all other ethnicities decline. Additionally, the data suggests that White, Asian, Pacific Islander, and multi-racial graduates are more often hired than Black, Latinx, and Native American graduates. Geographical patterns. We identified a geographical signal in the distribution of institutes of higher education and entomology departments in the U.S. (Fig. 2). Entomology departments are more often found in cities and states that are disproportionately high in White and Asian populations: in part, this is because most entomology departments are in land-grant universities. Many U.S. land-grant institutions were founded on land stolen from tribal peoples through the Merill Act of 1862, but they remain largely inaccessible by Indigenous American students (Thompson et al. 2013). All U.S. academic institutions are more fairly distributed with respect to the White population and, to a lesser extent, the Black population. The implications for BIPOC graduate students are that they enter entomology programs in cities that are predominantly composed of people who do not look like them. This has the potential to negatively impact their feelings of assimilation and to increase alienation. Moreover, this can influence recruitment, if there are fewer entomology departments in predominantly BIPOC cities. BIPOC K–12 students are less likely to encounter entomologists (and other scientists) during their formative years. According to our survey, 33% of faculty outreach efforts are predominantly within the same city as the department, and 90% are within the same city or state. More research is needed to determine whether these represent outreach efforts to actively target communities in need or are simply representative of a proximity bias. Geographical effects of underrepresentation: race demography of U.S. cities and states where universities are located as compared to the general population of the United States. Boxes show 25% and 75% quantiles of the distribution and horizontal lines show the median value. Historically, there is a stark gap between the initial founding of entomology departments in North America and the first Ph.D. degrees awarded to BIPOC students (Fig. 3). Adding to the difficulty in evaluating diversification of such departments has been a trend for department names in the U.S. to change over time; hence, we considered universities that had entomology departments in the past, and non-entomology departments with students working on entomological theses. Of the universities for which we had data (Kansas State University, Cornell University, University of Chicago, University of Georgia, University of Illinois, University of Puerto Rico, University of Connecticut, Rutgers University, and University of Maryland), five had degrees earned by people of color on an entomological topic within 15 years of the department’s establishment. George Washington Carver earned his degree in 1890 from Iowa State University, where entomological work began in 1880. Charles Turner earned a degree in 1907 from the University of Chicago, where entomological work began in 1892. Hachiro Yuasa earned a Ph.D. in 1920 from the University of Illinois, where entomological work was established in 1909. Fernando Gallardo-Covas earned an M.S. in 1980 from the University of Puerto Rico, whose department was founded in 1970. Marta Martinez Wells earned a Ph.D. in 1991 from the University of Connecticut, whose department was founded in 1985. For the other departments, a person of color did not earn a graduate degree until more than 30 years after the department’s founding. Years department founded compared with years the first person of color (American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Latinx, or Pacific Islander/Native Kanaka Māoli) received their graduate degree (M.Sc. or Ph.D.) on an entomological topic. Institutional practices. Research-based teaching methods are, by definition, pedagogical strategies shown to increase learning outcomes. They are particularly relevant in the context of this article because such strategies are known to decrease achievement gaps between underrepresented minorities and their counterparts (e.g., Haak et al. 2011, Harackiewicz et al. 2016, Jordt et al. 2017). Our survey collected responses from 21 entomology or related departments in the U.S. and Canada. One of our prompts asked how many course offerings in entomology departments employed “research-based methods,” which generated a huge variability of responses. The median response was that 60% (standard deviation +/-28%) of courses used such methods, but multiple responses were in the 0–30% range for undergraduate courses. Responses indicated similar levels for graduate courses (70% +/- 30%). A survey of Black and Latinx entomologists highlighted several barriers to participation in entomology, such as discrimination and a lack of role models (Abramson et al. 2013). A study by White et al. (2019) suggests that the success of Black students in science (assessed by both GPA and perception of self-efficacy) is correlated to the degree to which they incorporate science into their own identity. There was also a strong correlation between the degree to which they felt assimilated into society and the degree of identification with science. Abramson et al. (2013) found that survey respondents supported interventions to enhance participation by BIPOC in entomology that aimed to incorporate science into identity, such as early exposure to entomology, K–12 “bug clubs,” and symposia and seminars that featured diverse speakers. Generally, increasing exposure to nature can help improve participation (Morales and Jacobson 2020). White et al. (2019) proposed that recognizing students for achievement in science (e.g., providing science-specific certifications) could also help more students self-identify as scientists. Providing access to field courses is one effective way of lowering achievement gaps among BIPOC students disadvantaged by systemic issues in their education. Beltran et al. (2020) showed that field courses improved self-efficacy across demographics by orders of magnitude more than lecture courses. Improvements to self-efficacy entirely corrected for pre-course disparities in self-efficacy among underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students. Of the departments we surveyed, eight offered two or more field courses with high enrollment; five offered two or more field courses, but had low enrollment; seven offered only one field course; and four responded that field courses are rarely or never offered. These statistics are mostly encouraging; however, if we wish field courses to ameliorate retention gaps of disadvantaged students, then they need to be accessible. Beltran et al. (2020) found that economically disadvantaged, first-generation, and underrepresented minority college students were less likely to enroll in field courses than their counterparts. Although there may be multiple sources for this disparity (Hembroff and Rusz 1993), the additional costs that field courses sometimes have are likely barriers (Simon and Ainsworth 2012). Of the 21 institutions that responded to our survey, only six offered partial or complete financial support for field courses. Of the 11 departments that require students to pay complete tuition for field courses, only four courses covered the cost of extra expenses (e.g., travel, room and board, equipment) or noted that those expenses were so small as to be non-burdensome to the student. Data are in several that should be in We do not the effect of implicit biases on recruitment and retention among but they are likely similar to those found in the general biology Eaton et al. (2020) showed that implicit biases among biology faculty White and Asian who were as more and in a see 1B). a lack of data the gender and of the (e.g., South and identities (e.g., and sexual it to whether strategies for recruitment and retention are effective across the entomological community. We that an low proportion of departments responded to our The lack of a about trends in departmental and historical be In it was to data from used and departmental to these but many departments did not have these or they were never In departments that demographic information about graduate students was by the and Act or about that we did not require The value of data about diversity of students and in entomology be relevant information about student we identify to those students. 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(2020) showed that underrepresented minorities were more often in academia more that more to be to by Thus, we that faculty work to change their own implicit biases and discuss how these biases have about providing to students and or during and be in working practices (e.g., with such as recruiting BIPOC of entomology departmental seminars for that the number of of color from to and BIPOC faculty and To do so of and and to targeted groups (e.g., of Black to for can for in the practices for retention of diversity in and they can of for in the In working graduate departments can support for BIPOC student researchers through programs like the for can list of color and such as those in on their departmental barriers for BIPOC and in entomology. departments is one way to for students and Additionally, historically Black colleges and universities and colleges can an role in students of color to their as scientists. one entomology department in North America is at an several have faculty working in entomology in non-entomology colleges have an entomology department, but several have faculty working in entomology. 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There are and social among racial groups by historical systemic racism in the United (Feagin as as practices that can These higher education, as they all U.S. institutions. actively working to these disparities to racism in We present data that the underrepresentation of BIPOC graduate students in entomology as a function of the general U.S. population and the graduate student population in science. data women in science, we that the academic is for Black and Latinx women than White and Asian We show that geographic distribution of academic and particularly entomology cities and states that are disproportionately We of their these disparities will lead to of BIPOC in entomology are at all academic We for departments, and faculty to and data on these BIPOC BIPOC students and the among diverse groups of entomologists in outreach to of need more effective teaching practices have (Abramson et al. 2013). To the profession of study of most of require We all the departmental who it to data to our The of this article are a of the of an to increasing diversity in the field of entomology. The have been listed in to equal

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