March 2016: Diversity

R.Science podcast | Royal Society

This month on R.Science we’re talking about diversity in science. When you’re trying to solve a problem, drawing from the experiences and perspectives of people with the widest range of backgrounds and life experiences can really help you think creatively and innovatively- and so it’s essential for delivering excellence in science. This month we’re exploring the topic but asking experts about unconscious bias and talk about how to create an inclusive research culture; we speak with school students who have designed an app for LGBT students; and one of the scientists from our Parent, carer, scientist project tells us how she combines family life with her research.

1.15 The Royal Society’s Diversity Manager, Lenna, tells us about the Royal Society’s work in diversity and introduces some of the exciting projects going on. You can find out more about the Royal Society’s diversity work on our website.

05.40 Professor Mahzarin Banaji, Harvard Professor and a founder of Project Implicit, tells us about unconscious bias. We caught up with her at the Royal Society’s 2015 Diversity Conference, where she gave the keynote talk, to ask about how implicit subconscious thoughts and feelings impact on our judgement of people’s worth. If you’re interested to find out more we’ve got a video all about understanding unconscious bias.

12.45 Professor Saiful Islam, one of the members of our diversity committee, talks about how we can understand and remove barriers to science and how to create an inclusive research culture. Saiful also took part in our Inspiring scientists videos which record the life stories of ten British scientists with minority ethnic heritage.

17.20 We catch up with students from Stratford Girls Grammar School who have won a national competition for an app they developed for LGBT students. They came to our Out in STEM event in February and spoke to R.Science about the app and what inspired them to develop it.

19.50 We hear from Dr Lily Asquith about how she balances life outside the lab with a career in research. Lily’s story is part of the Royal Society’s new Parent, carer, scientist project which launched this month to celebrate the diversity of work life patterns of scientists across the UK with the aim of increasing the visibility of people combining a career in science with a family life. You can join in the discussion on social media using the hastag #AndAScientist

Listen to this episode.