The magnitude of the problem of systemic racism in #STEM can make one feel powerless to change it.

But, #AcademicChatter, we DO have power in our own spheres of influence. We can change how we teach in our classrooms, how we mentor & lead our research groups. And it counts. /https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">

I finally got a permalink for https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🍎" title="Roter Apfel" aria-label="Emoji: Roter Apfel">Growing Healthy Labs, a workshop I created in 2019 for https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✨" title="Funken" aria-label="Emoji: Funken">aspiring faculty on how to create inclusive environments in research groups that develop both excellent science and scientists.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌟" title="Leuchtender Stern" aria-label="Emoji: Leuchtender Stern">

You can access the slides here https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👉" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts">: https://bit.ly/GrowingHealthyLabs">https://bit.ly/GrowingHe...

I& #39;m a postdoc and I& #39;ve never run a lab: why is anything I say worth reading?

While at MIT for PhD, I served as a confidential grad student mediator thru @MIT_iREFS, after training in conflict management. This means I spoke w/ many students about their issues. After a few yrs...

... of listening & counseling, I came to the dissatisfying realization that I was merely treating a symptom of a much bigger problem — the problem being the lack of leadership & mentorship training in faculty.

I also noticed some sad patterns in just *who* came to see me. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙁" title="Leicht stirnrunzelndes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Leicht stirnrunzelndes Gesicht">

At the same time, I had convos w/ profs about their own grad school experiences. Surprisingly, some of the profs who had poor mentors & vowed to do better themselves were unwittingly making *different* but still harmful easy-to-make mistakes.

These profs were good people, but...

... due to power imbalances, they simply didn& #39;t have the awareness to solve problems within their own labs, let alone the tools & know-how.

Faculty, you don& #39;t know what you don& #39;t know you don& #39;t know. (There& #39;s no typo in that sentence.) You cannot let your own lived experience...

... be your ONLY info source when you mentor trainees. Doing so leads to an affinity bias — an unconscious tendency to feel you work best with those most similar to you.

Without proactivity, it& #39;s not surprising that our field has a whiteness problem. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/science/earth-science-diversity-education.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/2...

If you are not proactive in applying best practices for mentoring people of all backgrounds, identities, etc, then *you are part of the problem* for why there has been no progress on diversity in 40 years in geosciences.

@rachelxbernard & @ehgcoop& #39;s https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-018-0116-6">https://www.nature.com/articles/...

So, if you& #39;re feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of dismantling white supremacy in your STEM field, start close to home — in your own research group, with folks you currently mentor and teach.

Table of contents of workshop slides below. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

I hope this resource plants a few seeds in your soul, which you then cultivate, grow, and share with others! These are seeds of lifelong learning.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌱" title="Setzling" aria-label="Emoji: Setzling">

Huge thanks to @RShivamoggi for her support & expertise; @emsaurios & @aaberhe for their encouragement >1 yr ago; and all ...

... the folks who came to a workshop & provided feedback to make the next one better.

If we all challenge the status quo & have the moral courage to reimagine science, the beautiful world we want could be ours.

@emsaurios said it best: Treat people as well as we treat our data!