Decolonizing STEM

Decolonizing the curriculum means creating spaces and resources for a dialogue among all members of the university on how to imagine and envision all cultures and knowledge systems in the curriculum, and with respect to what is being taught

and how it frames the world. Before talking about the solution to this complex issue, we should first contemplate what is missing.

Decolonization within STEM is difficult to achieve, as STEM subjects are not opinion-based subjects. This means that large quantities of information out there have been established for years, and therefore the issue is not in that the work of BAME individuals and women is not being used but the lack of work is due to the lack of these groups being involved. For example, according to a government census in 2011, 14% of the UK population is non-white, while the percentage of non-white undergraduate students in the UK domicile in 2017/18 is 25%. At first glance this appears to be more than representative of the BAME population. However, as a deeper analysis of the statistics is made, it becomes clear that only 17% of non-white undergraduates take the physical sciences. And while 24% of undergraduates are BAME students, only 19% go on to do postgraduate research (2016/17). However, whilst there is more research conducted by men within the STEM field there is a minority written and conducted by BAME individuals and women, and therefore it may just be a case of making this more transparent.

Currently, the medical school and STEM department at the University of Exeter have put together an Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Group started as the Athena SWAN Working Group in 2012, before developing into the EDI Group in 2016, to reflect a broader remit covering equality, diversity and inclusion in relation to all protected characteristics. The medical school’s Group seems to currently be the most active, however departments such as the Women in Climate (WIC) network are doing something different by promoting female researchers every week in their blog. ( Link: April, 2021 | Women in Climate (WiC) Network (exeter.ac.uk)). However, currently there is no policy that is in place that relates to the curriculum and the information and pledges that are there are hidden and difficult to find. Therefore, it is important that policies are made to help correct this issue.

The University of East Anglia has come up with a set of primary recommendations that should be implemented within 1-5 years to help with the decolonization of STEM subjects, these are:

• Unconscious bias training for all University staff and students, mandatory for members of committees or interview panels, and for personnel involved in teaching.

• Instigate mentoring schemes aimed at supporting BAME accepted applicants, students, and staff.

• Provide a diverse curriculum that includes Female and BAME contributions to science and ensure diversity on teaching committees. Where it is not possible to find diversity in professorial staff, the introduction of BAME post-doctorates and postgraduates to the committee should be implemented.

• Female and BAME role models are needed at all career stages and can be provided through outreach activities, invited speakers and by ensuring the curriculum includes contributions made by BAME individuals to STEM.

First there must be an acceptance (of the problem) as people need to be a part of constructing solutions in order to fully participate in the change we need to see. Therefore, it is important to keep advocating for this issue as it is often swept under the carpet.

Note: This post is written by a first year medical sciences student and therefore this piece is written from personal experience and research.