Resources

The lack of racial and ethnic diversity in STEM fields requires immediate attention if the US is to continue to compete in the global marketplace of ideas. Here, the argument is made for immediate action in four specific directions.

The Celebration of Women in Neuroscience Luncheon at Neuroscience 2019 took a retrospective look at the past 50 years, highlighting advancements women have made in the field and what still needs to be done to increase gender equality.

Improving the climate of an institution benefits all members of the community. It improves the stability of each department; increases faculty and student productivity; leads to higher recruitment and retention rates of both faculty and students; promotes respect, collegiality, collaboration, and cooperation; and improves the quality of the science within each department.

Like apprentices in other fields, U.S. postdocs work for peanuts and are discouraged from pursuing their own ideas in return for the chance to learn the profession. But supervisors must also hold up their end of the bargain by being good mentors.

This collection of articles, a collaboration between Nature Research and Scientific American, focuses on the barriers faced by women and how they might be overcome, but also includes articles about the challenges encountered by other underrepresented groups in science.