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Action Items for Latin-American Chemists and Chemical Societies to Improve Equity and Diversity in Science
Organometallics ( IF 2.5 ) Pub Date : 2020-08-17 , DOI: 10.1021/acs.organomet.0c00529 Daniel G. Rivera 1
Organometallics ( IF 2.5 ) Pub Date : 2020-08-17 , DOI: 10.1021/acs.organomet.0c00529 Daniel G. Rivera 1
Affiliation
Daniel G. Rivera is a Research Professor in Chemistry of the University of Havana and the current President of the Latin-American Federation of Chemical Associations. He previously was the President of the Cuban Society of Chemistry and is a member of the Cuban Academy of Science. He has served as a Visiting Professor at the Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil, the University of Leuven (KU Lueven), Belgium, and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Germany. He has also been an Invited Speaker in several universities in Latin America, Europe, and the USA. He is an organic chemist with scientific interest in biomolecular chemistry, catalysis, and drug and vaccine development. Give the same opportunities to all students and graduates. The recognition that talent is everywhere and not only in those who received better chances early in life (e.g., basic education) results in being more open to giving opportunities to students arising from minority populations or disadvantaged social classes. Like anyone else, such students can have a special talent for science and become highly productive and talented researchers. This applies to careers in academia and the chemical/pharmaceutical industries, which are widely represented in our chemical societies. As they hire most of the graduates of our universities, they should consider the power of diversifying the scientific workforce. Examples of highly diverse and successful—in terms of creativity, productivity, and revenues—technological enterprises are very common, especially in North America. Implement bidirectional exchange programs within Latin America and between Latin America and other continents. Unfortunately, most Latin-American exchange programs are intended to send students abroad, while just a few allow bidirectional exchange. It is not enough to send our best students to be trained in Europe, Canada, and the USA, thus making the destination groups more diverse. We should also favor the diversity of our own research programs by bringing international students to work in our groups. As a positive example, I have been part of a very international group in a federal university in Brazil, which in addition to nationals, included Ph.D. students and postdocs from Colombia, Cuba, Pakistan, India, Portugal, and Germany. This diversification of the workforce leads, for example, to seminars and daily lab work conducted in English, while each student incorporates their own experience to enrich scientific productivity. Increase the internationalization of doctoral programs in science. The tendency of some Latin-American universities to give priority to national students is detrimental to the pursuit of a more diverse scientific workforce. On the other hand, I have seen positive examples in universities of Mexico, Chile and Brazil, which have internationalized considerably their doctoral programs in chemistry, although they are still mostly populated by Latin-American students. Some of our best Latin-American universities certainly have the capacity and quality to welcome graduate students from Europe, the USA, China, or India, just to mention areas of large populations with significant contributions to science. This action should not be seen as funding spent on educating individuals from other countries but as an investment in the internationalization of our research groups. Latin-American students can learn a lot from the competitiveness found in research of scholars from other regions. Attract visiting professors. Looking at more senior staff, we have to do more than merely invite professors from abroad to give a seminar once per month. We need to host postdocs and visiting professors to be fully integrated temporarily in our groups and bring their expertise and perspective to our universities. Some of these foreign academics, upon returning to their home countries, will eventually become editors of chemical journals and occupy decision making positions at universities, thus helping to boost the position of Latin America in the international scientific scenario and provide opportunities for Latin American scientists in the global setting. While hiring, even temporarily, foreign professors might be financially difficult for many Latin-American countries, it is viable for various Latin-American universities and science funding agencies from our region. Open our minds to mentoring international students. Even if they come from countries whose customs or religion we do not understand well, be open minded to receive and train students with a different culture and language from yours. Very often, those students integrate successfully and contribute to diversifying the skills and research topics of your group. Even neighboring countries sometimes have very different teaching systems, and those students might have learned specific aspects of chemistry differently from what you teach to your own. The diversity of minds, languages, and working systems can never be negative for creativity and innovation. As chemical societies: Advocate at all stages for equal opportunities for men and women in ALL aspects of science, including access to under- and postgraduate programs, promotion to faculty positions in universities, talks in scientific conferences, and press coverage of results. This is an important step forward toward providing equity in the competitive realm of scientific research. Do not forget the industry. Whereas the academic sector has recognized problems with gender inequality and taken actions to improve it, the perception of various colleagues who gave me suggestions for this article is that the Latin-American chemical and biopharmaceutical industry is lagging in facing this problem. Therefore, it is important to use the influence of our scientific societies to promote the debate on gender equity in this industrial sector. Many industrial leaders and decisionmakers are members of our chemical societies, and they could be positively influenced to take actions in this regard. As an individual: Advocating for equal opportunities is not enough.(3) In any academic or industrial position we occupy, we must actively ensure fairness in the opportunities given to women as compared to men. This commitment begins from the moment we choose how many women and men integrate our research groups and continues when we organize a symposium and seek for a proper gender balance in the speaker slots.(17) Taking care of a proper balance in scientific conferences or any other scientific scenario is not—and can never be seen as—a favor we do for underrepresented groups;(18) instead, it follows from the fact that diversity and inclusiveness generate better conferences, insightful discussions, and ultimately better science. As an individual: Be more proactive in the scientific interaction with the leaders of your specialty, especially editors, members of editorial boards, and conference chairs. Help them understand the potential of Latin-American science and encourage them to give opportunities to researchers of this region. If possible, invite them to visit your university to evaluate first-hand the relevance of your results and those of your colleagues. Advocate in international congresses and personal interactions with decisionmakers for fairer publishing opportunities such as the option of double-blind reviewing. This works not only for the benefit of underrepresented communities but also for younger or less known scientists from all countries. Trust more in your science. Do not hesitate to ask the editor to reconsider the decision to not send your manuscript to peer-review. At this stage, the persuasive content of the cover letter is crucial to convince him/her of the novelty and impact of your results. Similarly, do not be afraid of requesting an additional reviewer in the case of contradictory or partially biased reports. Speak out if you see any discriminatory or chauvinist comment in the referee report—you can ask the editor not to accept such a report and seek another reviewer. Nominate prominent colleagues from Latin America—either if they currently work in our region or not—to international awards and editorial positions of top Chemistry journals. It is crucial to have people who know the Latin-American reality and potential in the editorial boards. As chemical societies: Negotiate with international editors to dedicate special issues to publish scientific research conducted in Latin America. This is especially easy these days with the practice of Virtual Issues. Here, it is worth mentioning that members of the Brazilian chemical community are very active in both attracting editors to chemistry conferences and negotiating with them the dedication of special issues to publish results presented in those conferences. This is an example to follow by the organizing committees of the CLAQs and other chemistry conferences to be held in Latin America. Use the CLAQs and other national chemistry conferences in the region as platforms for launching the internationalization of the Latin-American chemical sciences. It is not enough to increase the Latin-American participation in conferences abroad, but we should bring scientific leaders to conferences in our region. Invite them to look at the posters of our students and listen to the talks of our best scientists. Latin-American chemical societies should implement a long-term strategy to improve the quality and visibility of our journals. Among many other things, we have to seek that both the editorial boards and the authors are more international and diverse. It is also important to convince the top Latin-American researchers to send some of our best results to these journals to increase citations and visibility. Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS. The statements against racism and the discrimination of women and minorities in science, as well as the call for a more diverse and inclusive science, are expressed on behalf of FLAQ and all its member societies. However, other views and perspectives outlined in this Editorial are those of the author and not necessarily of other members of FLAQ. This Editorial is jointly published in The Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society (10.21577/0103-5053.20200156), The Journal of Organic Chemistry, Organometallics, and Inorganic Chemistry. I am very grateful to the members of the Board of Directors of the Latin-American Federation of Chemical Associations (FLAQ) and to the many colleagues and journal editors who gave suggestions about this topic. This article references 20 other publications.
更新日期：2020-08-24
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