Over the past 18 years, the percentage of female faculty members at top chemistry research programs have risen from 10% to 20%. Why does the number of female faculty members remain so far below availability when increased gender diversity should lead to competitive advantages? Though the overall increase seems small, when one mines the data the hiring trends at the junior professoriate ranks are more promising as they indicate a faster increase boding well for the future. This complicated reality highlights the fact that the lack of demographically equitable representation within our chemistry programs is inconsistent with a drive towards excellence. It runs counter to the academic case for diversity which argues for the causal relationship between diversity and success in research teams. Through the National Diversity Equity Workshops, engaging social scientists and chemistry department heads, we have identified barriers to inclusive excellence, and solutions —that is, procedures, policies, and practices— to reduce inequities. Central to these solutions is a need for re-imagining the ‘leaky pipeline’ metaphor. Instead of a pipeline, we envision a professional ladder —one where every rung represents an opportunity for individuals to Opt out or stay in our field. The solutions that will be discussed focus on purposeful and strategic policies and practices aimed at encouraging individuals choose to persist on the STEM ladder. That is, the academic path should be so desirable that female chemists will choose to opt in.

Cultivating change: Equity solutions to advance inclusive excellence and female chemists

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.