Improving the Experience of Science for All

By Blanton S. Tolbert, Vice President of Science Leadership and Culture, Howard Hughes Medical Institute 

Increasing diversity in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) ecosystem isn’t enough to ensure that every scientist or student can thrive. If we are to achieve true equity in STEMM, we must look beyond merely increasing the number of scientists from historically marginalized backgrounds and focus on systemic change, which requires a culture shift within scientific communities that prioritizes well-being and belonging.  

For too long, marginalized communities have often been sidelined or have encountered systemic barriers to entering the STEMM fields. The barriers that restrict opportunities and the traditions that perpetuate status quo norms inhibit us all from realizing our full scientific potential.  

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is focused on the “experience of science,” specifically the creation of inclusive and equitable cultures in lab environments and our own administrative workplaces. That’s what will sustain a diverse community where all individuals feel a sense of belonging. By improving the environments that scientists operate in, rather than focusing solely on students’ perceived deficits, we believe that everyone can achieve their maximum potential. 

Improving the experience of science means creating environments that are inclusive and supportive of scientists from all backgrounds, identities, and ideological perspectives. This benefits every scientist who participates in these environments, and it also strengthens their scientific work. There is mounting evidence that a diversity of perspectives is critical to:  

• accelerating the advancement of scientific discoveries, 

• ensuring scientific outcomes are more rigorous, 

• finding the best solutions to difficult problems that affect all humans, 

• improving health outcomes for all communities, and 

• growing the US scientific workforce to maintain a competitive edge. 

When STEMM fields are not equitable and inclusive, we’re leaving people with vital contributions out of the equation. The COVID-19 pandemic provides the most recent example where collaborations by diverse teams proved critically important. Global teams of scientists representing many different countries, races, and ethnicities worked together to rapidly develop diagnostics, share cutting-edge data, engineer lifesaving vaccines and therapeutics, and build trust with communities that have been historically disadvantaged by the scientific enterprise.     

It is not enough to ensure every student can be in a lab or pursuing a STEMM degree. We must make certain that every student feels a sense of safety, respect, and belonging in every lab and classroom. HHMI is working with the STEMM Opportunity Alliance to do just that. We recognize that equity and inclusion require cross-sector collaboration to enact systemic change. We’re developing intentional, bilateral relationships with minority-serving institutions, community colleges, institutions with lower research capacity, and with other philanthropies to identify and recruit “hidden figures”— individuals from across the country with high potential to excel in STEMM but who are often overlooked or do not feel welcome within the current STEMM culture. We’re leading the charge to improve their experience in the scientific enterprise by developing mechanisms that support their career development at each stage of the academic pathway.  

Many next-generation scientists await discovery, and it’s our job to make sure that the STEMM ecosystem is a place where they can thrive – for the benefit of us all.