Shirley Malcom is a senior advisor and director of the STEM Equity Achievement (SEA) Change initiative at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, the publisher of Science), Washington, DC, USA.
Science. 2024 Mar 29;383(6690):1395. doi: 10.1126/science.adp4397. Epub 2024 Mar 28.
Three years ago, addressing racial justice in the United States moved firmly into the mainstream. Following the murder of George Floyd, the ongoing struggle for social justice was again laid bare, and pledges to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) began sprouting everywhere. Now, the pendulum is swinging back on these commitments. A backlash against DEI initiatives is rising across all sectors, especially at the state level. Last year's decision by the US Supreme Court to strike down the consideration of students' racial status in college admissions has emboldened many who oppose any advancement of DEI. Although there has been specific attention to higher education, other sectors have also been attacked. The retreat includes recent anti-DEI legislation that would affect structures, programs, practices, and curricula that aim to support success for all, including persons who have been historically excluded from or marginalized within science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). Before this backlash worsens, DEI advocates, the scientific community, universities, and federal agencies need to collectively call out the dangers of setting aside DEI and come up with robust ways to demonstrate its value to society.
三年前，美国解决种族正义问题的努力已深入人心。在乔治·弗洛伊德被谋杀之后，人们再次直面这场旷日持久的社会正义斗争，社会各界纷纷承诺要努力实现多元化、公平性和包容性（DEI）。如今，人们对这些承诺的态度又发生了转变。反对 DEI 倡议的浪潮正在席卷全美，尤其是在各州。去年，美国最高法院决定在大学招生中不再考虑学生的种族地位，这一决定使许多反对任何 DEI 进步的人更加有恃无恐。尽管人们对高等教育的关注度有所提高，但其他领域也受到了攻击。这种退缩还包括最近的反 DEI 立法，这些立法将影响旨在支持所有人取得成功的结构、项目、实践和课程，包括那些在科学、技术、工程、数学和医学（STEMM）领域历史上被排斥或边缘化的人。在这种反冲进一步恶化之前，DEI 的倡导者、科学界、大学和联邦机构需要共同呼吁警惕搁置 DEI 的危险，并提出强有力的方法来向社会展示其价值。
