The Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Faculty of Science (GenDI) kicked-off their Diversity Lecture series. On 10 October, Prof. Dr Jessica Dempsy (ASTRON) gave an inspiring talk on objectivity, biases and inclusive practices.
Jessica Dempsey, the current director of the NWO institute ASTRON, has been Professor by special appointment for Ethics in Astronomy at our Faculty since 2023. Jessica is a strong advocate for greater diversity, equality and opportunity in astronomy. During her lecture, she talked about the myth of objectivity, biases in science and inclusive practices within science and between science and society, which are important topics when striving to build an inclusive and community-driven compass for science.
‘When someone says his conclusions are objective, he means that they are based on prejudices which many other people share.’ - Celia Green.
This quote by Celia Green was used by Jessica Dempsey to introduce the myth of objectivity. Jessica highlighted the notion of the ivory tower which resembles the exclusive nature of science: not everyone has access to the science community or scientific practices. In her talk, it became clear that this issue is twofold.
First, there are groups of people who are less represented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Jessica highlighted the lack of women working in STEM and referred to the idea of the leaky pipeline. The leaky pipeline represents how women do not stay in STEM careers while they do have the skills, knowledge and interest necessary to stay. Despite the efforts to increase gender equality, if continued at the current speed, it may take decades to decennia to achieve equal gender representation in stem subjects. However, small changes, such as providing tailor-made opportunities to less represented groups may increase diversity in STEM disciplines. This challenge resonated well, and in fact, this is one of the current issues that the GenDI working group ‘hiring and retaining diverse staff’ is addressing.
‘Research is probably one of the dirtiest words in the Indigenous world’s vocabulary’ – Linda Tuhiwai Smith.
Second, in the context of the potential tension between science and society, Jessica Dempsey introduced the exclusion of society in science by showing the quote by the Hawaiian Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith. Jessica Dempsey shared her experience in Hawaii while working on the Mauna Kea Observatory. The scientists working at the observatory ignored the immense impact the telescope had on the lives of the people living near the area the telescope was build, resulting in protests by the local community members. Enticed by the protests, the scientists started to listen to the community and learned that they also hold a responsibility to better understand the perspectives of the local people. Jessica Dempsey concluded her talk by giving examples on how scientists can work towards valuable participation of diverse scientists and community members in STEM research.
After this first Diversity Lecture, the audience had the opportunity to further discuss the eye-opening lecture by Jessica Dempsey.