Episode 34

The Importance of the Humanities, Tech Politics, and Equity in Science ft. Cassidy Sugimoto

May 30, 2023

TRANSCRIPT

Jack and Shobita discuss the decline in humanities majors as the number of computer and data science majors rise, and why this is will have very bad consequences. Then they chat about emerging efforts to regulate both in vitro gametogenesis (creation of eggs and sperm using pluripotent stem cells) and generative AI. Finally, they talk to Cassidy Sugimoto, Professor and Tom and Marie Patton School Chair in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology, about her new book, Equity for Women in Science: Dismantling Systemic Barriers to Advancement.

Study Questions:

1. What is bibliometrics, and how can it be useful for policymakers? What are its limitations?

2. What does bibliometrics tell us about the state of women in science?

3. What kinds of practices, programs, and policies, can help achieve equity for women in science?

4. What arguments and stories might you use to convince people to value the questions that women scientists tend to ask?

5. What were the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women scientists, and how might universities help women address this now and in future crises?

6. How might accepting that science is not neutral actually help scientists and science?

Related links:

• Nick Anderson (2023). "College is remade as tech majors surge and humanities dwindle." The Washington Post. May 20.

• Center for Genetics and Society (2023). "Whether or How to Use Artificial Gametes." April 12.

• Cassidy Sugimoto (2023). Equity for Women in Science: Dismantling Systemic Barriers to Advancement. Harvard University Press.

• Cassidy Sugimoto (2022). "Narrow hiring practices at US universities revealed." Nature. September 29.

• Cassidy Sugimoto (2021). "Scientific success by numbers." Nature. May 3.

• Cassidy Sugimoto (2019). "Rethinking impact factors: Better ways to judge a journal." Nature. May 28.
  Hoppe, Travis A. et al. (2019). “Topic choice contributes to the lower rate of NIH awards to African-American/black scientists.” Science Advances. 5: eaaw7238.