Resources

Recently, the Dutch Research Council (NOW) has initiated a new funding instrument “Advancing Equity in Academia through Innovation”. The goal of this instrument is to contribute to equity of underrepresented ethnic groups within academia in the Netherlands and to create a more inclusive cultural climate. 

Funders’ goals for diversity, equity and inclusion are laudable, but they will only be successful if the funders prioritize health disparities research and address biases in the funding application process.

Authors propose that one concrete way to monitor and redress racial and other disparities in funding is to collect and publicize data on grantees by gender, race, ethnicity, and location from neuroscience funding agencies.

The UK Commons Science and Technology Committee calls for action on underrepresentation in STEM and recommends a series of changes to education policy, following the Prime Minister’s commitment to grow STEM pupil numbers. 

Governments worldwide are committing more funding for scientific research in the face of the ongoing pandemic and climate crises. However, the funding process must be restructured to remove the barriers arising from conscious and unconscious biases experienced by minoritized groups, including women, and particularly women of colour.