Marginalization and the fight for even less funding.

Today Dr. Isis' blog, was based on an email sent to her by a black female graduate student and I think it hit an emotional nerve in me as well as others. It provoked DrugMonkey to write a post about it.

And although I too have commented on the blog, I am writing a post on this because I feel that the issues raised by the email are now lost to a ridiculous discussion of another woman's feminist rant. Let's get back to the real issue.

Here is part of the email that was sent to Dr. Isis:

I'm a black female graduate student in a field where just that information is probably enough for you to track me down and knock on my office door. I've been very careful in choosing schools and advisors that seem to value my ideas and potential, not just the diversity I can bring to a brochure photo. At the same time, I recognize that there are doors open to me that are unavailable to the vast majority of people in my field- fellowships that seem tailor-made for my circumstances. I'm not one to turn down free money, but at the same time it makes me feel as if I'm something of a novelty item, a token, or in the worst case, a fraud who's only there because of her skin color and reproductive system. It can be hard to tell if this stems from my own insecurities, or if this is something I should be genuinely concerned about.

...My question for you is this: recognizing that I am likely to be the only black person, female or otherwise, in the room wherever I go, is there anything I should be extra careful of to avoid being marginalized? I want to succeed or fail based on my own merits; I have no desire to be a department's Black Female Scientist.

Sincerely,
Grad with Braids

The first sentence of her email is quite telling because it speaks to her discomfort at not being able to remain anonymous and her isolation arising from her lack of anonymity. She stands out like a sore thumb because there just aren't enough of minority students around. The good news. The number of science and engineering doctorates awarded by US universities to minorities (Asians, blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians/Alaska Natives) is on the rise. The bad news. The number of minority faculty at leading universities remain small. In an NSF report 2004, Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians earned about 9% of all doctorates earned in 2003, but they when they examined the faculty in universities and colleges, only 12% were Asian, 4% black, 3% Hispanic, and less than 1% were American Indian/Alaska Native. Of those minority faculty employed by a university or college, even fewer are employed at Research I institutions. The racial/ethnic group that by far suffered the most underrepresentation at the Research I universities were black faculty.

It is this lack of representation that has led to the catch-22 tailor-made opportunities.

(Some might say negative frequency dependent selection is at work here.)

These feelings are reflected by Dr. Isis who indicates that she is worried that opportunities have come her way or that she has been valued not for her brilliant science but because she fills a diversity void in terms of some kind of affirmative action quota for the university.

Yes. I can echo this moral quandry. But I have resolved this because I know that by simply being present, I have changed the system.

I went to a high school where I was among 5 students who did not have blonde hair and milky white skin. Then I went to an undergraduate university where, yet again, I was among a handful of "others." Here I am again, in SmallTown where I am part of the less than 5% that are not white.

(Hmmm, a trend is appearing. )

Anyway, at the undergraduate institution, I had one boyfriend there who told me that he had never met a brown woman before and that I was helping him get over his racism. Needless to say after that comment, he was no longer a boyfriend. While it is not my job to educate white people on their prejudices, we are doing it all the time by our presence and engagement with others. My choices, however small, change others lives. It is by simply being all of what we are: female, black, brown, yellow, hairy, hairless, smart, stupid, with all of our successes and failures, that we are going to change how people view "others".

The other thing is that I know that my presence teaching this past year at BigUniversityInCanada made a difference to the women in the class of 200 students. I had one student in particular who said to me that she would never have considered research because she thought medicine is what she wanted. But the fact that I was there doing it made a difference. This is the other thing that "presence" does is that it makes it easier for others to see themselves in that world.

The key point of Dr. Isis' message also echoed by Sciencewoman and I can't agree more about it,

Funding is tight enough as it is; take advantage of every opportunity you can without apology. Then, take everything and accent it with the brilliant science I have no doubt you are capable of doing.

Here's the thing. I know several white male PhD students who have had no problem using their privilege and advantage to forward their science careers. The direction that science does seem to be taking is as DrugMonkey describes is one of "academic one-upsmanship and tear-downsmanship." In a frequency-dependent world, when you are rare, there is an advantage, use it. But use it wisely.

Someone will always question those who do well. (Just look at some of my past posts.)

I came from the arts and let me tell you there I got grants and fellowships because I was a "minority" artist. The big difference between getting the science and arts grants was that in the arts was that I was expected to write about all the trauma and conflict I had experienced as a minority. It didn't matter that this is not what you wanted to do, the grants given resulted in the art being tied to identity. This is not the case in science. As I said in my comment to Dr. Isis' post, I felt incredibly emancipated when I started up science. My ideas were what mattered. Yes people will judge you how they want, but in the end it will come down to the number of publications and the impact factor of those publications.

So should you be "extra careful of to avoid being marginalized?" No. Because that will happen anyway. If being the department's "Black Female Scientist" means that you have the chance to be present and give others a chance to see themselves where you are - I say go for it. Be that "Scientist." Be strong, take lots of deep breaths, and always be humble. And know that you are not alone.