Characterizing the culture of chemistry to catalyze change

Historically, STEM fields have been criticized for exclusive practices and culture. People who are excluded due to ethnicity or race (PEERs - Asai, 2020) experience inequitable conditions as students and professionals. Recent efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields have resulted in supportive programming such as scholarships, bridge programs, and specialized mentoring. Advocates of social justice argue that such programming uses a deficit lens, and that only by interrogating and rebuilding the systems that are reproducing inequities can we truly create a more inclusive discipline.

Rebuilding systems to produce a more inclusive discipline is a type of second-order change, which involves a shift in culture. Culture is comprised of values, beliefs, and assumptions, which influence visible behaviors, structures, and systems. Organizational change experts have theorized that change efforts must attend to culture to achieve second-order change. Understanding the culture in which change efforts are taking place, then, is necessary in order for a change effort to be successful.

Studies of chemistry provide evidence of inequitable conditions and outcomes observed in other STEM disciplines. This presentation outlines a project to characterize the culture of chemistry from the perspectives of PEERs. It draws on critical theories (critical race theory, community cultural wealth theory) and change theories (critical race consciousness, transformative learning theory) to integrate research and programmatic activities. The proposed approach to this work and expected products (including counterstories and a graduate-level course) will be discussed. The products from this project are intended to serve future change efforts in chemistry and other STEM disciplines that focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.