Racism in Biology/STEM by Anna Thompson-Strider https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy Is this really the way to go: "Don't politicize STEM. Stick to Science, not social issues."?? en-us 2020-10-16 20:49:12 UTC 2025-12-31 05:25:17 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/635159182/ca0f38b1ea004cd77f5a7f0dea9aeda6/cell_giphy.gif Racism in STEM (Assignment) annathompsonstrider https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/836976664  Aside from the pandemic, racism is the other BIG topic of 2020. Often scientists try to stay out of politics and social issues as exemplified by this quote: "Don't politicize STEM. Stick to Science, not social issues." However,  scientific findings often have direct impacts on health and safety of human beings and that makes science inherently political as well. This doesn't mean scientists should become less rigorous, but rather that scientists need to become more aware of the sometimes enormous consequences of racism in STEM.
For this assignment, I want you to find and document how racism can be detrimental and even unethical to both science and the society it serves OR how racial diversity in science can be be beneficial to the society it serves.
You can focus either on a scientific issue in biology or on a scientists in a biology-related field that is non-white  For guidance, take a look at the two examples I am providing you.]]> 2020-10-16 20:51:50 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/836976664 Graduation Rates in STEM (Anna) annathompsonstrider https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/837755025 PEERS = Persons excluded because of their race and ethnicity

On the graph below you can see that although white students and students of non-white ethnicity enter college intending to study in a STEM field at the same rate but do not graduate or persist at the same rate. This has not changed significantly between 1992 and 2018 and is an indication that there are systemic forces at work that slowly but surly exclude non-white students in STEM by graduation.]]> 2020-10-17 16:05:25 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/837755025 People of Color and Covid-19 (Anna) annathompsonstrider https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/837775416 Covid-19 hits non-white people more often with more severe outcomes

Below is a table that shows health outcomes for various ethnicities for Covid-19. The brief introduction gives a few reasons, but one that isn't mentioned is that people of color a vastly underrepresented in drug trials including Covid-19 drug trials. 
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200811/People-of-color-minority-groups-are-underrepresented-in-COVID-19-clinical-trials.aspx]]> 2020-10-17 16:30:09 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/837775416 Racism/Sexism experienced in by top female researcher of color in STEM (Anna) annathompsonstrider https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/866431718
"A prolific tweeter with nearly 80,000 followers, Iwasaki shares frustrations about mansplaining, gender discrimination, and the extra work that women, especially women of color, endure in dealing with messages that question their expertise and position. “I’m exhausted from having to do this, which takes time away from my real work,” she tweeted." 
https://www.statnews.com/2020/10/27/akiko-iwasaki-profile-covid19-research-fighting-sexism-power-imbalances-science/

]]> 2020-10-27 16:18:51 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/866431718 Racism in STEM (Olivia L) https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/874976333 Racial inequality in STEM is a known side of the systematic racism in the US that not only minorities social and cultural lives, but their jobs and interests as well. Through research on this topic, I have found that racism in STEM starts before higher education even starts, in middle and high school. Proof is given in an article cited that minorities are pushed out of stem through class and social background not supporting such a background, which can all be attributed to systematic racism and white privilege. Black students especially are pushed out, and have much higher numbers of either switching degrees or dropping out while in this area of study. This affects overall success of STEM because through effects
 mentioned earlier, the world is robbed of possibly ground breaking research and science. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0013189X19831006]]> 2020-10-29 21:33:02 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/874976333 STEM and Inequality https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875119903 2020-10-29 23:04:45 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875119903 Exclusion of African Americans from Clinical Trails (Morgan Avrit) https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875328795 Many barriers are found in those who are able to participate in clinical trials from age, sex, gender, and many other qualifications. Many factors go into the efficacy and safety of drugs including one's ethnic and racial backgrounds. The ACE-inhibitor for example had a less diverse clinical trail group and  the hypertension drug is found less effective in black patients. Black patients are underrepresented in many clinical trials even though as seen in many statistics they have the highest death rate for most diseases. Henrietta Lacks who is part of the Tuskegee Syphilis  Study are working on ethical research practices regarding many beneficial practices within Black Communities to be more inclusive in beneficial scientific work.

]]> 2020-10-30 01:12:54 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875328795 Racism in STEM (Kelly) https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875443840 I agree that everyone should have the same amount of opportunities without racial discriminations but in the article I read I don't understand how just the lack of diversity would be considered racist. The American populations is about 76% white and 13% black it makes sense that there would be a lack of diversity in many states. Its a shame that there is such a focus on race when instead we should be looking at the characteristics of a person. When it comes to education in college it shouldn't matter what your race is, but instead we should focus on the individuals work ethic, character, and intellectual behavior. If I were to run in a school I would want to make sure that everyone felt included, but also hire or accept any person based off of their experiences and scores.
https://www.cfact.org/2020/06/20/is-stem-inherently-racist/
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219 

]]> 2020-10-30 02:23:08 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875443840 Racism in Stem (Alyssa) https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875517326 I completely believe that everyone in this country should be based solely on their personality and not on their racial standings, unfortunately, that is just not the case.  In the article "science has a race problem" it describes how in science there is racial discrimination when examining the number of white scientist compared to colored scientist. However, I agree with what Kelly said about how there isn't exactly racism within the scientific field but more of a lack of diversity due to the number of colored people in the United States. Instead of focusing on if science contains racism we should be pushing the idea of higher education for the younger generation that will lead into higher level jobs in the scientific field. Thus, creating a more culturally diverse workplace.

]]> 2020-10-30 03:16:40 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875517326 Racism in Stem (Chloe) https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875627078 Everybody in this country is based on racial standing and rarely anyone sees people for who they really are. Everyone sees color and color only, separation has gotten terrible. The article describes how scientist are being discriminated and people are saying there are more white scientists in the world. Why should it matter? They all went and got a degree and they all worked very hard to get to where they are at in the point of their lives. ]]> 2020-10-30 05:11:19 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875627078 The Subconscious Biases Within Us (Lindsey) https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875643749 It is a particularly desirable trait to be able to put oneself into another's shoes and understand different perspectives. I had a particularly difficult conversation amongst some family members a few months ago and one member's denial of the existence of white privilege for themselves and others, because they simply just could not see it. I tried to explain to them that it definitely does exist, is a very real problem, and just because they weren't aware of it, the simple fact that they are a white middle class female allows them access to certain things and opportunities that other people may not have access to because they are not. Particularly in our education system in terms of accessibility to high quality education as well as positions, there is a definite and measurable imbalance presence between the races. In the article,  " Black Scientists Call Out Racism in Their Institutions", they recount students and their stories of systemic racism within the education system, of being reduced to just their race as a justification for their career/position and the  following imposter syndrome that results as racial trauma for black and brown students. As scientists we should understand the importance of having as much diverse people and perspectives in the work place as possible. Diverse perspectives produce good observation and good observation is good science. 
https://www.theverge.com/21286924/science-racism-strike-stem-black-lives-matter-protests]]> 2020-10-30 05:31:41 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875643749 Racism’s effects in Pharmacology https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875874422 The topic of racism in the medical field and more specifically pharmacology is something I feel personally connected to. I am a pre-med major, and any example of racism in the medical field is one that I will face or cower from. Pharmacology has a long history of both intentional and unintentional racism. On the side of intentional the most well known would be the Tuskegee Study. A study which was conducted by the federal government which included 600 Black men, the stated purpose of which was to study the affects of syphilis. The underline case was the manipulation of the ill-informed and the and unfortunate. The study provided it test subjects with medical check ups and burial insurance, in exchange they would track their “recovery” and “treatment.” The leaders of the study purposefully mislead and lied to there subject by not using proper and new methods to treat them. In most cases allowing the disease to take its full course. All in the name of what would become useless research. When did this occur you might ask, it was running up until 1972. Deserved reparations are still being paid out. 

            Another example this time of unintentional bias is the make up of medical trails. There have been many explanations given that we can get into, but one thing agreed upon by scientist is that it exist. African Americans are underrepresented in medical drug trials.  This having a widespread affect most notably in the way certain drugs affect African Americans, leading to poor health care outcomes. This is an example of unintentional racism that has just as negative of an affect as intentional racism. Some of the proposed causes of this are that there is a compounded distrust for the medical industry by African Americans. Other reasons given are the fact that most drug companies do trials in non-low-income areas where People of Color are underrepresented. 
]]> 2020-10-30 09:44:07 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/875874422 STEM and INEQUALITY (Jiovanni) https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/878308962 We live in a world and to be more on point we live in America a country where many apparently believe was once a great place. Who exactly was it great for? As stated in the original Padlet scientists are told to stay out of social issues and stick to science seems quite similar to when Lebron was instructed to shut up and dribble. We have failed to understand we are in a world where our opinions and innate human rights are no longer affected by job or social status let alone skin tone. They are not meant to be political but divine in nature due to our uniqueness in a sense we should live in a harmonic state. The article I will post below gives a detailed outline of the struggles faced by an Asian American after returning to his Lab. Where also an African American is told to keep his politics at home over  a BLM pin. When we think about the broad picture, the racism faced within STEM is not new nor is it its own form; it is simply the racism faced among the world since the beginning. We can look at this in terms of the Covid-19 outbreak as well it is not a genetic anomaly it is simply a common disease called racism which many people suffer from and it affects the lives of several minority groups. 
https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2020/07/racism-science-real-universities-must-champion-change
]]> 2020-10-31 04:32:49 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/878308962 Racial Diversity and Discrimination in the US STEM workforce (Morgan Collins) https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/906071961 Below is a graph where it shows different ethnic groups and their relation to STEM fields. When looking at topics like "Not encouraged to pursue these subjects", or "Less like to think they would succeed in these fields" ethnic groups of blacks, and hispanics are at the tops of these lists. Although, when looking at people who are less interested in STEM fields than others, whites are at the top of this category. there are such wide gaps between ethnic groups, these categories/topics are the main reasons behind why there is this gap. 
https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2018/01/09/women-and-men-in-stem-often-at-odds-over-workplace-equity/ps_2018-01-09_stem_4-05/]]> 2020-11-09 20:37:46 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/906071961 Racism In Stem Hailey Myers https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/992527383 All is focused on ethnic status in this nation and rarely anybody recognizes people for anything else but black and white. Separation has become awful. I accept that without ethnic prejudice, everyone should have the same number of options, but in the article I read how the lack of diversity can be deemed discriminatory. I totally agree that anyone in this country should be judged purely on their personalities and not on their racial status. Sadly, that is simply not the case. It explains how racial inequality occurs in science by analyzing the number of white scientists relative to colored scientists in the article "science has a race problem".]]> 2020-12-07 01:41:19 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/992527383 few chances(michael) https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/1030274988 In western civilization to be a known scientist you must be able to put the time and effort into it. You also must have a stable environment  to work. The facts are that people of colour tend to be lower income. Which leads to less stability. This leads to less ownership of property. This mean less money from property tax goes to the pubic education system(which is how a lot of public school get funded, by property  tax), this leads to a poor education. Which leads to less opportunities so of course there are going to be less people of colour in high science and other difficult fields. ]]> 2020-12-18 04:16:11 UTC https://padlet.com/annathompsonstrider/997b1pw7cutyffgy/wish/1030274988