Ideological Roadblocks to Diversifying STEM: Resistance and Allyship in STEM Diversity and Inclusion Efforts

STEM 多元化的意识形态障碍：STEM 多样性和包容性努力中的阻力与盟友

• 批准号: 2055375
• 负责人: Erin Cech
• 金额: $ 55.96万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2055375&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Ideological; Roadblocks; Diversifying; STEM; Resistance

Ideological Roadblocks to Diversifying STEM: Resistance and Allyship in STEM Diversity and Inclusion EffortsThe aim of this project is to break important ground in STEM inequality research by better understanding how powerful and privileged groups in STEM respond to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in their workplaces and professions. Despite the millions of dollars invested each year in DEI-related training, recruitment, and retention efforts, STEM fields have struggled to diversify demographically and culturally. Much research over the last few decades has sought to understand the interactional and institutional-level biases that disadvantage women, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals in STEM. Yet, these biases are not the only ways in which inequality and under-representation are perpetuated. Central to STEM’s stalled diversification are sources of resistance to organizational and institutional changes that seek to advance equity. Such resistance can block both the effective implementation of existing DEI efforts and the development of new initiatives that would bring deeper structural and cultural transformations. This project seeks to investigate resistance to DEI efforts among the population with the greatest structural and cultural power in STEM. While many individuals in powerful social groups are personally committed to equity and inclusion, others may disagree with, and even actively resist, DEI efforts in their organizations and professions. The goal of this project is to map the wider landscape of cultural schemas that individuals in powerful social groups use to make sense of DEI efforts and to express their resistance to or support for those efforts. Using an innovative combination of analysis of existing survey data, interviews with a representative sample of individuals in powerful social groups STEM professionals, and a survey experiment, the empirical goals of this project are to (1) investigate resistance to and support for DEI efforts relative to their peers, (2) document the roadblock schemas (or shared cultural models) that individuals in powerful social groups may use to frame such resistance to DEI efforts, and (3) test interventions that attempt to destabilize adherence to these roadblock schemas and, by extension, resistance to DEI efforts. In doing so, this project would offer critical insights to assist academic institutions, workplaces, and professional societies in designing strategies to overcome those roadblocks and promote more effective DEI efforts. Such an investigation may also contribute to STEM inequality, cultural sociology, and sociology of professions literatures by illustrating how cultural norms of professional integrity, which seem on their face to be a degree removed from issues of inclusion or inequality, can serve as powerful tools of resistance to diversification within professions. Broadly, understanding the cultural frameworks that powerful social groups use to defend their privilege and resist change is vital for overcoming the stalled diversification of STEM and advancing race, gender, and LGBTQ equality therein.This project is funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances fundamental research on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

STEM多元化的意识形态障碍：STEM多样性和包容性效应中的阻力和团结这个项目的目的是通过更好地了解STEM中有权势和特权的群体如何应对其工作场所和职业中的多样性、公平和包容性(DEI)努力，在STEM不平等研究中开辟重要的突破口。尽管每年在与Dei相关的培训、招聘和保留工作上投入数百万美元，但STEM领域在人口统计和文化方面一直难以实现多样化。在过去的几十年里，许多研究试图了解在STEM中对女性、有色人种和LGBTQ个人不利的互动和制度层面的偏见。然而，这些偏见并不是不平等和代表性不足得以延续的唯一方式。STEM停滞不前的多元化的核心是对寻求推进股权的组织和机构改革的阻力。这种阻力可能会阻碍有效执行现有的经社部努力，并阻碍将带来更深层次的结构和文化变革的新倡议的发展。该项目旨在调查在STEM拥有最大结构和文化力量的人口中对Dei努力的抵制。虽然许多有权势的社会团体中的许多人个人致力于公平和包容，但其他人可能不同意，甚至积极抵制他们组织和职业中的Dei努力。这个项目的目标是绘制更广泛的文化图式图景，强大的社会群体中的个人使用这些图式来理解神的努力，并表达他们对这些努力的抵制或支持。利用对现有调查数据的分析、对有权势的社会团体STEM专业人士的代表性样本的访谈和调查实验的创新组合，本项目的实证目标是(1)调查相对于他们的同龄人对Dei努力的阻力和支持，(2)记录有权势的社会团体中的个人可能用来框定这种对Dei努力的阻力的路障图式(或共享文化模式)，以及(3)测试试图破坏对这些路障图式的坚持的干预措施，进而，对Dei努力的阻力。通过这样做，这个项目将提供重要的见解，以帮助学术机构、工作场所和专业协会设计战略，以克服这些障碍，并促进更有效的Dei努力。这样的调查还可能有助于STEM不平等、文化社会学和职业社会学文献，因为它说明了职业诚信的文化规范--表面上看起来与包容性或不平等问题有一定程度的区别--如何成为抵制职业内部多样化的强大工具。广泛地说，了解强大的社会团体用来捍卫他们的特权和抵制变化的文化框架，对于克服STEM的停滞不前的多样化和促进那里的种族、性别和LGBTQ平等至关重要。该项目由EHR核心研究(ECR)计划资助，该计划支持推进STEM学习和学习环境的基础研究、扩大对STEM的参与和STEM劳动力发展的工作。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。