Increasing gender diversity in the STEM research workforce

Carol W. Greider; Jason M. Sheltzer; Nancy C. Cantalupo; Wilbert B. Copeland; Nilanjana Dasgupta; Nancy Hopkins; Jaclyn M. Jansen; Leemor Joshua-Tor; Gary S. McDowell; Jessica L. Metcalf; Beth Ann McLaughlin; Ann Olivarius; Erin K. O’Shea; Jennifer L. Raymond; David Ruebain; Joan A. Steitz; Bruce Stillman; Shirley M. Tilghman; Virginia Valian; Lydia Villa-Komaroff; Joyce Y. Wong

doi:10.1126/science.aaz0649

Increasing gender diversity in the STEM research workforce

Carol W. Greider, Jason M. Sheltzer, Nancy C. Cantalupo, Wilbert B. Copeland, Nilanjana Dasgupta, Nancy Hopkins, Jaclyn M. Jansen, Leemor Joshua-Tor, Gary S. McDowell, Jessica L. Metcalf, Beth Ann McLaughlin, Ann Olivarius, Erin K. O’Shea, Jennifer L. Raymond, David Ruebain, Joan A. Steitz, Bruce Stillman, Shirley M. Tilghman, Virginia Valian, Lydia Villa-KomaroffJoyce Y. Wong

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

45 Scopus citations

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	692-695
Number of pages	4
Journal	Science
Volume	366
Issue number	6466
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz0649
State	Published - 8 Nov 2019

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10.1126/science.aaz0649

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Greider, C. W., Sheltzer, J. M., Cantalupo, N. C., Copeland, W. B., Dasgupta, N., Hopkins, N., Jansen, J. M., Joshua-Tor, L., McDowell, G. S., Metcalf, J. L., McLaughlin, B. A., Olivarius, A., O’Shea, E. K., Raymond, J. L., Ruebain, D., Steitz, J. A., Stillman, B., Tilghman, S. M., Valian, V., ... Wong, J. Y. (2019). Increasing gender diversity in the STEM research workforce. Science, 366(6466), 692-695. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz0649

@article{9fa86c07f4a14291a94a758ed72690b8,

title = "Increasing gender diversity in the STEM research workforce",

author = "Greider, {Carol W.} and Sheltzer, {Jason M.} and Cantalupo, {Nancy C.} and Copeland, {Wilbert B.} and Nilanjana Dasgupta and Nancy Hopkins and Jansen, {Jaclyn M.} and Leemor Joshua-Tor and McDowell, {Gary S.} and Metcalf, {Jessica L.} and McLaughlin, {Beth Ann} and Ann Olivarius and O{\textquoteright}Shea, {Erin K.} and Raymond, {Jennifer L.} and David Ruebain and Steitz, {Joan A.} and Bruce Stillman and Tilghman, {Shirley M.} and Virginia Valian and Lydia Villa-Komaroff and Wong, {Joyce Y.}",

note = "Funding Information: A number of funding agencies are chang ing or adapting new policies to improve the training environment, including the Welcome Trust, The Max Planck Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the National Science Foundation. In the past year, the NIH has made major revisions in their guidelines for pre-and postdoctoral training grants. Career enhancement and mentorship plans are not just required, they are scorable elements of the grant that must be reviewed. These changes are already having an impact on the research training environment as institutions are increasing the availability of career development programs for trainees and offering faculty increased training in effective mentorship and leadership skills. Funding Information: The funding agency, together with the institution, should identify another researcher with a proven track record of exemplary mentorship to take over the grant, so that the trainees can continue their work with minimal interruption. In the event that no suitable mentor is identified, or if the affected individuals would prefer to change departments or institutions, the funding agency should make bridge funding available for those individuals as they find new laboratories. In some cases, sexual harassment can cause in- dividuals to leave science entirely. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) already provides “career reentry” grants for men and women who have left the biomedical workforce. These programs should be expanded to allow individ- uals who have been pushed out of science to resume their research careers, and to minimize disruptions that arise as a by-product of sexual misconduct. Funding Information: We recommend the creation of institu tional and government offices to address substantiated claims of sexual misconduct and to educate institutions on sexual harassment policy, using the existing structures for research misconduct investigations as models. For example, U.S. funding agencies should establish an office responsible for collecting and reviewing verified reports of sexual misconduct, based on the model set by the Office of Research Integrity of the Department of Health and Human Services. These offices should offer clear reporting chains, consistent standards of evidence, and defined protocols for adjudicating sexual harassment cases, and should educate institutions on “best practices” for such investigations. Following the current U.S. National Science Foundation",

year = "2019",

month = nov,

day = "8",

doi = "10.1126/science.aaz0649",

language = "English",

volume = "366",

pages = "692--695",

journal = "Science",

issn = "0036-8075",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

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}

Greider, CW, Sheltzer, JM, Cantalupo, NC, Copeland, WB, Dasgupta, N, Hopkins, N, Jansen, JM, Joshua-Tor, L, McDowell, GS, Metcalf, JL, McLaughlin, BA, Olivarius, A, O’Shea, EK, Raymond, JL, Ruebain, D, Steitz, JA, Stillman, B, Tilghman, SM, Valian, V, Villa-Komaroff, L & Wong, JY 2019, 'Increasing gender diversity in the STEM research workforce', Science, vol. 366, no. 6466, pp. 692-695. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz0649

TY - JOUR

T1 - Increasing gender diversity in the STEM research workforce

AU - Greider, Carol W.

AU - Sheltzer, Jason M.

AU - Cantalupo, Nancy C.

AU - Copeland, Wilbert B.

AU - Dasgupta, Nilanjana

AU - Hopkins, Nancy

AU - Jansen, Jaclyn M.

AU - Joshua-Tor, Leemor

AU - McDowell, Gary S.

AU - Metcalf, Jessica L.

AU - McLaughlin, Beth Ann

AU - Olivarius, Ann

AU - O’Shea, Erin K.

AU - Raymond, Jennifer L.

AU - Ruebain, David

AU - Steitz, Joan A.

AU - Stillman, Bruce

AU - Tilghman, Shirley M.

AU - Valian, Virginia

AU - Villa-Komaroff, Lydia

AU - Wong, Joyce Y.

N1 - Funding Information: A number of funding agencies are chang ing or adapting new policies to improve the training environment, including the Welcome Trust, The Max Planck Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the National Science Foundation. In the past year, the NIH has made major revisions in their guidelines for pre-and postdoctoral training grants. Career enhancement and mentorship plans are not just required, they are scorable elements of the grant that must be reviewed. These changes are already having an impact on the research training environment as institutions are increasing the availability of career development programs for trainees and offering faculty increased training in effective mentorship and leadership skills. Funding Information: The funding agency, together with the institution, should identify another researcher with a proven track record of exemplary mentorship to take over the grant, so that the trainees can continue their work with minimal interruption. In the event that no suitable mentor is identified, or if the affected individuals would prefer to change departments or institutions, the funding agency should make bridge funding available for those individuals as they find new laboratories. In some cases, sexual harassment can cause in- dividuals to leave science entirely. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) already provides “career reentry” grants for men and women who have left the biomedical workforce. These programs should be expanded to allow individ- uals who have been pushed out of science to resume their research careers, and to minimize disruptions that arise as a by-product of sexual misconduct. Funding Information: We recommend the creation of institu tional and government offices to address substantiated claims of sexual misconduct and to educate institutions on sexual harassment policy, using the existing structures for research misconduct investigations as models. For example, U.S. funding agencies should establish an office responsible for collecting and reviewing verified reports of sexual misconduct, based on the model set by the Office of Research Integrity of the Department of Health and Human Services. These offices should offer clear reporting chains, consistent standards of evidence, and defined protocols for adjudicating sexual harassment cases, and should educate institutions on “best practices” for such investigations. Following the current U.S. National Science Foundation

PY - 2019/11/8

Y1 - 2019/11/8

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U2 - 10.1126/science.aaz0649

DO - 10.1126/science.aaz0649

M3 - Review article

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AN - SCOPUS:85074704001

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 366

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IS - 6466

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