There’s a lot of talk about racial diversity and a lack of it everywhere but it’s acutely apparent in climate science, as Saijel Kishan and Eric Roston discussed for Bloomberg:
The geosciences, which includes climatology, is home to the least diverse population of PhD candidates among the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, said Morris. The problem with U.S. climate science, Morris said, is the cohort of scientists publishing in science journals was produced by schools that perpetuate de facto social and class filters. That means many of those in the higher echelons of climate academia have limited interactions with Black and other people of color, he said.
And that not only “concentrates a culture, it concentrates a view, and it amplifies a segregated community of climate scientists,” said Morris, who is a professor of chemistry and environmental sciences at Arizona State University.
According to a study conducted by Arizona State University, 7% of all meteorological faculty members were classed as BIPOC (Black & Indigenous People of Color). White scientists made up 79%. Aside from how diverse workforces generate more money and better work, it’s important that the issues faced by Black people are worked on by Black people.