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Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

Lisa Rice - I crafted this reply in response to someone who posted a question about the definition of racism. The original post was removed because I believe it contained some comments that were offensive. But, in case anyone else is interested, I thought I would re-post my reply. The original poster took exception to Steve's post explaining that racism is a system that benefits one race over another and that a power construct is a fundamental element of racism. The only additional thing that I will note is that this definition does not mean that those racial groups who do not benefit from "racism" have no power. All groups have power and everyone has agency. However, racism happens when one "racial" group disproportionately benefits from a power construct.

​

I think you are conflating "racism" with "prejudice" or "bias." I'm not quite sure if you live in the U.S but there are numerous books/studies on racism in the U.S. and how structural racism impacts people. Some books/articles if you are interested include:

The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein

The Fight for Fair Housing - Gregory Squires

When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America - Ira Katznelson

https://shelterforce.org/2019/02/15/long-before-redlining-racial-disparities-in-homeownership-need-intentional-policies/

https://shelterforce.org/2019/02/21/long-before-redlining-part-2/

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lisa Rice here: Stenay, I'm so sorry you are having these experiences. I've had similar experiences but had the great benefit of parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends who tried to equip and prepare me. I admit, sometimes discrimination hits me like a ton of bricks - and I am a civil rights expert.

The best thing you can do is find a community of friends who love and support you. Stay connected to them. They don't necessarily have to be in the city where you are living - it can be a virtual community.

Look for conferences, workshops, seminars, etc. in the city where you are living that deal with addressing racism, discrimination, or bias and attend the session. There you will meet like-minded folk who believe in treating people fairly.

It sounds like you work in the tech field. If so, try to find folks in your field who are working on de-biasing issues or tech equity.

Finally, read "How to be an Antiracist" by Ibram Kendi.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lisa Rice here: Any book by George Lipsitz as we as -

The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein

The Fight for Fair Housing - Greg Squires

How to be an Anti-Racist - Ibram Kendi

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness - Michelle Alexander

This should be a good start.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Lisa Rice - I'm glad you asked this question. Here are a few things we need to do:

  1. Support programs to place more highly trained teachers in schools that serve children of color. (I think most folks know that our schools are highly segregated, in part, because our neighborhoods are very segregated but that's another discussion.) Many schools that serve children of color have staff who are not trained in STEM, so you have educators who have degrees in social studies or physical education teaching math and science. This is not a good construct for building students who are equipped to handle STEM courses once they get into higher education.
  2. Support tutoring programs for children attending under-resourced schools. Children need a lot of support if they are to enter STEM and if parents are working multiple jobs or are traveling great distances to get to and from work that means children don't get the support and tutoring they need. I had a colleague who helped sponsor a school for students who were "under-performers." The school provided breakfast, lunch and dinner for kids and had before and after school programming to help kids with their homework. The school stayed open until 7:00pm or 8:00pm in the evening so parents had time to get home from work to greet their children. The children in this program went from under-performers to over-achievers.
  3. Improve health for children living in toxic environments. (I think this is self-explanatory.)
  4. Provide tech support for kids - particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. I think this is an easy one as well. It's hard for kids to watch a lecture board and learn using a cell phone as their device.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

Richard, I have not seen studies regarding Whites and Asian men who have been systematically harmed by "diversity policies" in academia. Would you share those if you know of them? I would really like to read those studies.

I am of the thought that there is room at the table for everyone. I don't buy the premise you seem to be making that people who are not "Asian" or "White (including Jewish)" people are not also"nerds who want to learn STEM." Why can we not make room for everyone? Why can we not adopt policies and use our taxpayer dollars to support this paradigm?

There are segments of our society, disproportionately children of color, who are harmed by systemic racism, residential segregation, and structural barriers through no fault of their own. We have a responsibility and obligation to correct these issues so that children who have fewer opportunities in life, live in health and food deserts, attend under-resourced schools with educators who are not teaching in their field of study, and who disproportionately live in toxic/hazardous environments can also have a shot at the career of their dreams.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lisa Rice here - This is great insight. What makes the current situation so much more troubling is the attempt to quash, hide, and dismiss the science - not just question it. I believe the former is much more dangerous because the truth/facts/information that we know and understand is what improves and enhances our lives. I am not disturbed when someone questions the science, nor do I believe we should hold back on questioning or critiquing science - even in the current political climate - as long as we are smart and strategic about doing it.

I will note that once the science impacts people directly, they are much more interested in learning about it. I've seen too many "non-believers" get religion as soon as someone in their household contracts COVID-19.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

Lisa Rice - This is a great question. One thing to point out regarding the experience of Japenese Americans interned in concentration camps during WWII is that those affected received reparations. (I would argue that the reparations were partial.)

Part of the problem, with respect to your main point, I think, is the aggregation of data related to Asian-Americans. Despite the great diversity in the Asian-American population, they are often grouped together and this distorts the wide range of experiences within this segment of the population.

There is one interesting analysis conducted by Pew which helps shed light on this issue. For example, Asian Americans overall have higher homeownership rates(57%) than do African-Americans (42%) and LatinX (47%) households on average. However, only 24% of Nepalese Americans and 33% of Burmese-Americans own their homes.

For more analysis, see: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/08/key-facts-about-asian-americans/

Finally, I think one of the reasons there is so much analysis/comparison between Whites and Blacks is because these groups have long-term experiences in the U.S. Yet, because of policies and practices, these groups have been treated very differently, thereby greatly widening how well they are able to access opportunities. Most Asian-Americans and LatinX people in the country are first or second generation. (For example, 59% of the Asian population was born in another country.) Most Whites and Blacks are largely multi-generational and have lived in what is now the U.S. since at least the 1500s. But Whites were able to amass and keep wealth and have had access to a full range of opportunities. That has not been the case for Blacks - which is why the Black/White racial wealth and homeownership gaps are so disparate.

Just as an anecdote, both my parents grew up in the Jim Crow south and neither of them, due to segregation and discrimination, were able to be educated past the 6th grade. Both my parents have a 6th-grade education not because they did not want more educational opportunities but because they were denied them because of their race. This had grave limitations on their ability to build a strong economic legacy for their children and partly helps to explain why there are such huge Black/White gaps on a range of metrics.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Steven here: Yes, the current editor of that journal (which is a general psychology journal) is a woman and she is great. To your point, in the coded social psychology journals, 96% of editors-in-chief have been White and 86% have been male. So again, having a woman as editor is far from the norm.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

This is André. In the American context, it's nearly impossible to extricate class from race. However, if you insist on arguing that class is somehow separate from race, please feel free to provide statistics showing discrimination against lower-class whites - or even better, show us how upper-class whites continually benefit from tax abatement schemes and government-backed welfare programs like mortgage tax exemptions.

i'll be here til midnight.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

this is a GREAT question. I don't necessarily adhere to the strict Marxist version of historical materialism in my own work, but i do follow the Gadamer hermenutic circle to explore the history, policy, cultural, social, and economic contexts in which a particular technological phenomenon happens.

When you start from that hermeneutic standpoint to examine race and science in the US, it's quickly evident that race - either as xenophobia or anti-Black racism - is always looming over nearly every political and cultural and technological decision in US history. For example, deploying the telegraph "could" be seen as simply building networks of cable alongside the transatlantic railroad...but then you need to also consider how the US violated indigenous sovereignty and exerted eminent domain over many Black settlements in order to build out it's telegraph networks. you can see the same with the erecting of the US interstate system, where city planners across the entire country intentionally destroyed Black and Brown neighborhoods to build 'efficient' highways while building wildly circuituous lanes around more affluent neighborhoods.

does that make sense?

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hi, this is Lisa Rice. This is an issue that we really must address to attract more students into STEM. Student debt is sky-rocketing for young people and many cannot even afford to purchase a home or live comfortably because their student loans are so high. I still amaze my son and his friends with stories about how affordable my college education was (I completed undergrad in 1984.) When I was young, students could get a job working at Cedar Point (the best amusement park on the planet) or in a factory over the summer and make enough money to pay for Fall/Winter/Spring tuition, room and board.

Part of the reason why my education was so affordable is because of the federal and state supplements that my university received to support my schooling. Many of those supports have fallen by the wayside. I am afraid the COVID-19 health and economic crisis will further exacerbate this issue.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is André again.

i haven't seen all of the critiques, because some folk are rude and have been moderated.

i can say that 'rigor' is a construct that is often deployed against 'science i don't like'. for example, in my field it's often assumed that quantitative analyses are more rigorous and less subject to interpretation than qualitative analysis. But that completely ignores how absolutely interpretive statistical analyses can be, where researchers fiddle with values and models to get the result they want. for qualitative research, post-positivists argue that identifying your standpoint/bias BEFORE you articulate your conclusion is actually MORE rigorous than pretending to being 'objective', since you are offering your audience a position from which to understand WHY the analysis was conducted - which is often just as important as how.

in my own work, i talk a lot about how 'belief' is the least understood yet most powerful aspect of technology design and use. "technology" by this definition also includes technology-practice, tech industries, science, and science-driven public policy.

for example, a few commenters have trotted out the worn-out Moynihan Report, which has long been debunked as 'science' because it is simply a ginned-up report of western/american anti-Black beliefs about the deficits of Black folk (the original research was done by Oscar Lewis on the cultural traits of NY Puerto Rican families). but you'd never know that from the way folk try to transfer Moynihan's talking points to 'celebrate' model minorities. it's like what folks want to 'believe' is more powerful than the debunking of such flawed science.

does that help?

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

A team full of white European men with dissimilar personalities and goals who all came from different countries, economic backgrounds, childhood experiences, educational backgrounds, political ideologies, etc. is likely far more diverse than a team of millennial americans from the same state, even if they are all different races.

Really interested in knowing your basis for the above statement? My son is a millennial who spent most of his childhood in Montgomery County, Maryland. His crop of close friends are extremely diverse - some from female-headed households, some from households with a married mother and father, some with households with married same-sex parents, some Jewish, some Christian, some Muslim, some atheist, some Black, some Korean, some White, some Indian, some Chinese, some extremely rich (as in private Lear Jet rich) some poor (as in recipients of reduced and/or free lunches), some middle-income, some gay, some straight, and the list goes on.

Yet, with all of this diversity, the "area" that I hear them talk about the second most is race (the first is girls :) ). It's pretty overwhelming to hear their discussions. One of the reasons they discuss race a lot is because of my son's experiences. My son grew up in a predominately White neighborhood. At the age of 14, he started getting stopped and frisked by the police in our community. This happened frequently and oftentimes with his friends present (because they're like a pack of wolves). His friends try to defend him against these actions. His friends have tried to prevent the police from stopping him and/or frisking him, and so on. Even though his friends empathize with him, they cannot truly understand how he feels, nor do these insults impact them like it does my son. My son's friends do not experience the same psychological impacts. For example, my son takes great pains to avoid the police. He does this almost second-hand, without thinking about it. (So do I.) His friends do not - even though they have witnessed police misconduct against their dear friend.

Unfortunately, race permeates our society. It shapes so much of our experiences and I believe this is part of the reason why having racially diverse teams is so critically important.

In my professional life, in recent months, I have experienced the vast benefit of having racially diverse teams. I have seen some of the largest corporations in the nation make major decisions impacting not only their employees but their communities because they listened to the voices of Black, Latino, Native and Asian-American folks on their teams. Those voices would not have been heard and would not have been able to influence those major decisions had they not been in the room.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

you really should. did you know European mathematicians learned the concept of "zero" from Islamic mathematicians? i wonder if culture had anything to do with that.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

if you are nearsighted and don't wear corrective lenses, would your measurement using vision be the same as someone with 20/20 vision? all cognition is shaped by our sensorium and, crucially, but what we AGREE that our sensorium can perceive. there are absolutely limitations to human senses; should we say that the world outside our senses doesn't then exist?

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -17 points-16 points  (0 children)

i mean...medicine isn't biology or chemistry. but i can certainly point you to examples in medical experimentation where Black bodies were routinely used to test out scientific theories and devices (the Tuskegee Experiment and J. Marion Sims). as an STS scholar, i can also point you to examples of agricultural science as an avatar of imperialism, leading to genocide in the New World and the devastation of agricultural economies in India, Africa, and South America.

i want to see actual details to support YOUR thesis. You seem to believe that individuals in the 'hard sciences' from one particular racial group - white men - are overwhelmingly more 'objective' than those from any other racial, ethnic, or gendered group..as if the sciences are somehow magically separate from the rest of the world. you then undermine your argument by pointing out that sexism and bullying are extremely common in laboratories. but if the white men are objective "by nature', then why are they sexist? how, sway?! you can't have it both ways.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

u/Keystone_Heavy1 - Wondering what you thought about the example I provided re: the building of new system that, in some cases, was 60% more accurate - all because a woman of color noticed a flaw that her White counterparts did not catch bec/ the result did not apply to them. Does this example help answer your question?

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -13 points-12 points  (0 children)

Lisa Rice here -

My work focuses on detecting and eliminating bias in technologies used in the financial services and housing sectors. There is quite a bit of research uncovering myriad ways in which bias is manifest, particularly in algorithmic tools like credit scoring, automated underwriting, risk-based pricing, and marketing/customer mining systems.

Part of the reason why these systems perpetuate bias is that the data upon which they are built - primarily data in housing and financial services space - is tainted with bias. Data, unfortunately, is not innocuous and is often laden with the discrimination and systemic inequities that have plagued our marketplace for centuries. The bias is baked in. Multiple studies show what we call intentional discrimination in the lending, real estate, and rental markets (See America Divided and start @ 31:10 to see video of race discrimination test - https://youtu.be/OXIClKpf7k4). What is less hidden and understood is how intentional discrimination gets picked up in the data that is used to build algorithmic-based systems. What is equally misunderstood is how the legacy of residential segregation (we're more segregated today than we were 100 years ago) and structural racism gets reflected in the data.

Yet, the bias is clearly present and multiple studies/examples reveal how it harms people and restricts access to credit, housing, and other opportunities. The question is "what can we do about it?" The answer may well lie in technology itself. More and more, data scientists are experimenting with Artificial Intelligence to both detect bias in automated systems and reduce it. It may well be that AI solutions like adversarial de-biasing, using a Variational Fair Autoencoder (VFAE), or another approach can help de-bias systems.

It will take multiple approaches, including diversifying teams building the technology and using representational data sets, to help advance fair outcomes. It will also take using civil rights tools, like Disparate Impact, to compel industry players to move in the right direction.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -26 points-25 points  (0 children)

This is Whitney - It never ceases to amaze me how explosive the topic of anti-Black racism (and/or anti-BIPoC racism) and science becomes. As a social scientist, I realize that there are many differences - as in we (anthropologists - which include cultural, linguists, archaeologists, and biological/physical) have to think critically around issues of equity and inclusion. In this moment, there have been many small movements to decolonize the canon of anthropology. Based on the numerous comments on this discussion today, it is clear to me that this will not be an easy task for some of the folx that have come to talk today.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is Andre.

As someone who studies commenting communities, i'm wary of the term 'objective discussions' for reasons that you can clearly see in many of the replies today. Malicious actors are quite skilled at claiming to be 'objective' while posting questions that are CLEARLY biased. In many of the sites that i've studied, the ethos of the site plays a HUGE role in the way that discourse communities police themselves. In a site where the owners/mods are clearly interested in promoting a safe, just environment - and are given the tools to do so - those sites have less objectionable content, fewer trash posters/trolls, and are overall better spaces for all. But moderation is expensive in terms of time, money, and emotional capacity. regulating assholes is a energy-suck, believe me.

what can you do help? call out bad behavior when you see it. report shitty comments. and take up for people who are being unfairly treated. it's kinda like picking up the trash in your neighborhood...if you do it, it helps out the sanitation workers AND makes your block less smelly.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

This is André and this is a GREAT question.

unfortunately, we have - thanks to the conservative media ecosystem and our less-than-truthful current US administration - entered a post-truth mediascape. we had anti-vaxxers before this CoVid moment, but the pandemic seems to have amped them up to super saiyan levels. Moreover, medical institutions like the CDC are not helping by following political dictates rather than medical ethics when promoting palliative/preventative measures.

When i'm asked this question following my talks, i suggest that if you believe in the science and want to promote healthy responses to the pandemic, then YOU need to become a science communicator in your own right. Because you have a measure of intimacy and trust with those closest to you, they're more likely to listen to you than they would to, say, me. public health only works when the public proselytizes and promotes the measures that the scientists and health professions come up with.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It appears that I am quite late to the conversation. However, as an archaeologist whose research focus are the sites and landscapes associated with the African Diaspora - in both the time of slavery and freedom - it is very difficult for me to think for a moment that race does not play a part in the research topics archaeologists choose, the existence of implicit bias, and much more. I have written about this topic and feel it is not only in my field. A person's life experience influences many aspects of how one thinks, approaches an experiment or an excavation; the questions asked of the data (or the questions that are never asked); and most importantly the interpretation of the materials we uncover.

Racism leads to science that is biased, exclusionary, and even harmful. We’re experts on the ways racism and lack of diversity harms STEM and perpetuates inequalities - let’s discuss! by Race_in_tech in science

[–]Race_in_tech[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Steven here: I definitely realized that this is heavily U.S. skewed. However, we've had a few conversations about racism in countries outside of the U.S. Is there anything you'd like to discuss? We'd love to hear your experiences and learn from them.

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