structural racism
Structural Racism
COSSA Board Member Sara Curran Comments on U.S. Race & Ethnicity Standards
On March 16, The Seattle Times quoted Director of the University of Washingtonâs Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology and At-Large member of COSSAâs Board of Directors Sara Curran in an article on the need to update the U.S. standards of collecting race and ethnicity data. The recent push to revise the race and ethnicity data standards has been a priority of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which has led town halls to collect public feedback on the proposed changes to the standards (see previous COSSA coverage). In the article, Dr. Curran states that âthese categories change…
National Academies Release Report on Antiracism in Science Organizations
On February 14, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) held a webinar marking the release of a report on Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations. The report aims to identify structural barriers to participation in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM) by minoritized individuals and provides recommendations on how the scientific community can instigate meaningful changes to remove these barriers and instill principles of antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI). The report offers the following recommendations to the scientific community: The report can be read in full on the NASEM website.
NIH Releases UNITE Progress Report for 2021-2022
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released the inaugural progress report covering fiscal years (FY) 2021-2022 for the UNITE Initiative, the agency-wide program comprised of five committees charged with identifying and addressing structural racism within the NIH research community and the greater biomedical research enterprise (see previous COSSA coverage). This progress report is the first such report on the UNITE Initiative and aims to describe NIHâs actions since the Initiativeâs establishment in 2021 in identifying and addressing structural racism as well as areas that still need to be addressed. The report cites actions that have been taken to address…
Biden Administration Executive Actions: Equity & Inclusion
Another early Biden Administration executive order rescinded various Trump Administration actions that attempted to push back against perceived âpolitical correctnessâ by actions prohibiting trainings and other activities that touch on white privilege, structural inequality, implicit bias, and other supposedly âdivisiveâ concepts based on decades of social science research. President Bidenâs Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government goes beyond simply revoking the Trump Administration policies and instead sets a policy of actively working to improve racial equity government-wide. The Executive Order outlines a systematic approach for accurately assessing âwhether agency policies and…
ASA Webinar Corrects the Record on âRace and Sex Stereotypingâ Executive Actions
The American Sociological Association (ASA), a COSSA governing member, held a webinar on October 20 to respond to recent White House actions prohibiting trainings and other activities that touch on white privilege, structural inequality, and other supposedly âdivisiveâ concepts (see previous coverage). The webinar âSociology Speaks: Experts Explain the Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotypingâ featured three sociologists, Karyn Lacy of the University of Michigan, Bandana Purkayastha of the University of Connecticut, and Shelley Correll of Stanford University, who corrected the misrepresentations of these concepts in the orders and memoranda and explained how they have contributed to a…
AAAS Forum Focuses on COVID Impacts, Systemic Racism in Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) held its annual Science & Technology Policy Forum in a virtual format on October 13-14. The forum featured two days of panels and lectures focused on pressing policy issues facing the sciences. The majority of the first dayâs sessions focused on how COVID-19 has impacted science and innovation, the essential role science has played in responding to the pandemic, and lessons that can be drawn from this experience to strengthen the science and technology enterprise going forward. The second day featured a number of sessions on confronting the dark history of…
Administration Expands Ban on âPromotionâ of Structural Racism/Sexism to Contractors, Grantees
As part of the Administrationâs ongoing effort to crack down on perceived âpolitical correctnessâ in government, President Trump issued an executive order on September 22 to âcombat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating.â This order expands on a recent memorandum from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that required federal agencies to cease funding for training that addresses critical race theory and white privilege (see previous coverage). The executive order applies this prohibition to federal contractors and grant recipients. In addition, it expands the original OMB memo beyond employee training to require that federal…
White House Directs Federal Agencies to Defund Race-Related Trainings for Federal Employees
On September 4, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum calling for federal agencies to cease funding training sessions for federal employees addressing critical race theory and white privilege. The memo alleges that âexecutive branch agencies have spent millions of taxpayer dollars to date âtrainingâ government workers to believe divisive, anti-American propaganda,â citing unnamed press reports as evidence that âemployees across the executive branch have been required to attend trainings where they are told that âvirtually all White people contribute to racismâ or where they are required to say that they âbenefit from racism.ââ The…
AAAS Issues Draft Plan to Address Systemic Racism in the Sciences
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has released the first of three draft plans intended to address systemic racism in the sciences, Holding up a Mirror: Demographic Representation in AAAS Functions that Advance Careers. The plan outlines AAASâs commitment and proposed actions to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion within its operations. Forthcoming draft plans will focus on AAAS programs and initiatives to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in science and engineering and on AAAS actions to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion with the AAAS as an organization. They are expected to be released by mid-September. Comments and…