Accelerating Change: #DiversitySolutions on Social Media - ACS

Chapter 6

Accelerating Change: #DiversitySolutions on Social Media Downloaded by CORNELL UNIV on November 3, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date (Web): October 26, 2017 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2017-1256.ch006

Dontarie Stallings,* Srikant Iyer, and Rigoberto Hernandez* Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States *E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

The Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE) works with department heads and social scientists to flatten the diversity inequities that have historically led to mismatches between the demographics of the faculties in chemistry and the demographics of the presumptive future faculty. OXIDE uses both traditional and modern approaches to disseminate the current understanding of barriers and solutions to inclusive excellence within the chemistry community. This chapter focuses on OXIDE’s use of social media as a platform for disseminating scientifically qualitative and quantitative diversity content not only to decision- and policymakers but also more broadly to faculty and students. For example, we outline our #DiversitySolutions twitter campaign emphasizing changes in policies and procedures so as to enable the participation of a more diverse faculty.

Introduction The Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE) was formed in 2009 in order to help chemistry faculties deliberately correct the mismatch between their demographic representation and that in the pool of PhD graduates. We are known as OXIDE, as illustrated by the logo in Figure 1, because it sounds phonetically like the would-be acronym of our title, OCCIDE, Alternatively, you can perform a C2 inversion on the first ‘C’ in the acronym, and through a tight ligature of the two characters form an X. The term OXIDE also evokes the

© 2017 American Chemical Society Nelson and Cheng; Diversity in the Scientific Community Volume 2: Perspectives and Exemplary Programs ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

chemical notion of change, which we are trying to make, not on molecules as in oxidation chemistry, but on the nature of the professoriate in chemistry.

Downloaded by CORNELL UNIV on November 3, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date (Web): October 26, 2017 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2017-1256.ch006

Figure 1. Logo for the Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity OXIDE has used a number of traditional approaches to increase the dialogue between chemists and social scientists as outlined in our past publications (1, 2). Much of this work is top-down relying on interactions with senior personnel —such as department heads and chairs—who have the authority and responsibility to make and change policies. An alternative strategy for reaching such thought leaders is to move bottom-up by way of informing the community as a whole with the expectation that a wholesale change in the culture will percolate up to the decision makers. This chapter is centered on the use of social media to effect such bottom-up driven change. A key component of this strategy is the use of twitter and specifically the Twitter handle, #DiversitySolutions. This point of view is somewhat radical even today because the presumption is that culture and professional practices (1, 2) in chemistry are relatively immutable and can only be changed from the top down if we convince the power brokers. We are, of course, hedging by way of continuing our efforts to do precisely that. However, we believe that there is also the possibility to effect change from the bottom up. More than ever, the platform one uses to communicate with an audience dictates the exposure of the message to the community’s zeitgeist. As a result of the democratizing and flattening of content dissemination through social media, there is the possibility of exposing solutions to diversity inequities to a sufficient critical mass of chemists to influence change. However, the size of information that is bombarding us all is so great that the message can be lost and diluted. Thus the goal for this chapter is to convey OXIDE’s approach for creating a central online conversation through social media that is effective at conveying solutions to diversity inequities across the entire chemistry community and in turn the thought leaders that will implement them.

Defining Diversity Equity Much of OXIDE’s efforts revolve around communicating practices, policies and procedures that have the capacity to increase diversity equity within the chemistry community. Because the definition of diversity tends to differ from person to person, OXIDE explicitly defines diversity through a lens that supports the inclusion of the other. In many respects, the chemistry community’s excellence can be linked to diverse inclusion. Traditionally, the community 68 Nelson and Cheng; Diversity in the Scientific Community Volume 2: Perspectives and Exemplary Programs ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.


has been successful at inclusion with respect to: diversity of ideas, diversity of religion and diversity of geography, just to name a few (Figure 2). Conversely, the community has not been able attain similar levels of equitable inclusion with respect to: gender, race & ethnicity, disability, orientation and sexual preference. These groups therefore comprise the, so-called, under-represented groups (URGs). The degree of representation in the faculty and the available future faculty pools with respect to gender and race/ethnicity is summarized in an accompanying chapter of this volume (3).

Figure 2. A pictorial highlighting the names of diversity categories traditionally linked to excellence—listed in the column on the right,—and those of under-represented groups—listed in the left column—that should be similarly linked to excellence when a group has equitable representation. The chemistry community’s inability to attain equitable representation for members in URGs hinders inclusive excellence along several vectors. As summarized in the introduction, OXIDE’s primary mission is to work with the community to correct the mismatches in representation through active engagement with department heads, social scientists, and the diversity community (4). This top-down approach can be reinforced using bottom-up dissemination to the entire community through publications and, more generally, through social media, aimed at broad audiences. OXIDE’s efforts along this last vector comprise the remainder of this chapter (5, 6).

Creating Counter Spaces for #DiversitySolutions Among the many solutions to address diversity inequity, one recent research-based approach is the creation of counter spaces (7, 8). These counter spaces are typically physical sites at which all members of the community may feel free to discuss concerns and information relating to diversity. This includes, for example, “Safe Spaces” which have been developed to provide support to members of the LGBTQIQ+ community, and for which a given individual must be specifically trained to ensure that the space is truly safe. As is well known, social media is generally not a place where one can ensure the safety and privacy of the participants. Even in apparent closed groups, information shared therein 69 Nelson and Cheng; Diversity in the Scientific Community Volume 2: Perspectives and Exemplary Programs ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.


can be taken out of the group. As such, social media would not be a good counter space for engaging in private discussions. However, social media can serve as a place for delivering information. To the extent that the content is supplied by institutional representatives (and perhaps also champions from the LGBTQIQ+ community), it can also serve to provide visibility to the community. That is, a counter space on social media can provide community support. It offers the possibility of reducing social isolation by increasing the scale of the group from that of a single individual within a given department at one university to that of a nation-wide community consisting of members and allies of a given URG. To the extent that such members are willing to engage in conversation, this twitter platform may also lead to an asynchronous but real-time conversation. Through the use of social media, OXIDE is also able to engage via bottom-up driven change. That is, by providing the broad community —students through faculty— with awareness of barriers and solutions, we are empowering the community as a whole to engage in dialogue with chairs about possible solutions to improve their professional climate. Such suggestions percolating from the bottom of the academic hierarchy are analogous to the bottom-up approaches used in chemistry to develop new materials through chemical control. OXIDE’s social media platform is multifaceted and consists of; a website (oxide.jhu.edu) (6), a Twitter account (@OxideChem) (6, 9), a TWUB platform (Twitter Hub, #DiversitySolutions) (5) and a LinkedIn profile (OXIDE Chem) (10). A key component of OXIDE’s bottom-up strategy is the ubiquitous use of the Twitter handle, #DiversitySolutions, throughout our social media platform. In addition, we recognize that readers digest content through a combination of pull and push dynamics. In order to accelerate the distribution and exposure of content pertinent to OXIDE’s aims, we deliberately target distinct cohorts with hashtaged phrases that are of interest to them and many groups. Thus OXIDE is enabling a counter space to bring visibility to inclusive excellence, and to provide access to research-backed content to a broader community through a multi-pronged strategy as detailed further below.

OXIDE’s Website How one communicates through social media determines the audience that will access your information. The central components of OXIDE’s social media efforts are its website (11), shown in Figure 2, and social media platforms (5, 6). As a function of the latter, OXIDE’s online community includes participants representing multiple generations, races, ethnicities and sexual orientations. While OXIDE’s current online reach is substantial, the platform is structured to be a central method to convey diversity solutions across the chemistry community’s entire social media domain. The intent of OXIDE’s social media platform is to fill a need for the chemistry community. In most cases, barriers to diversity equity are disseminated at a higher rate than diversity solutions. As a result, finding scientifically driven diversity solutions using social media is difficult at best. OXIDE’s platform provides chemist a centralized location to discover: 70 Nelson and Cheng; Diversity in the Scientific Community Volume 2: Perspectives and Exemplary Programs ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

• •


• • •

Community pertinent peer-reviewed social science literature. Relevant and timely diversity op-eds written by the communities thought leaders. Successful practices undertaken by other chemistry programs. Successful policies enacted by STEM businesses. Contacts to individuals that have generated positive diversity equity change within the chemistry community.

While no one chemist is likely to explore all of these items at any given time or even over the fullness of time, the comprehensiveness of and ease-of-navigation through the OXIDE website (www.oxide.jhu.edu), as seen in Figure 3, provides an opportunity for users to choose which content they need at a given time. It also serves as a repository for data that OXIDE highlights through our various dissemination mechanisms (including the social media platforms discussed in this paper.) The website acts as a static interface providing a reservoir of effective protocols, procedures and practices. Sectioned accordingly, the website is consistently updated with: pertinent peer reviewed social science literature, demographic data, diversity solutions, Diversity Catalyst Lecturers, current events, pertinent workshop information and it contains an active dynamic twitter feed.

Figure 3. OXIDE’s Website Portal on September 12, 2016 (11).

71 Nelson and Cheng; Diversity in the Scientific Community Volume 2: Perspectives and Exemplary Programs ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.


OXIDE’s Twitter Twitter connects conversation via the use of hashtags (#). Within the twitterverse, hashtags allows for tweets with common subjects to be aggregated and served to readers through their designated interests. Hashtags also allow for tweets to be searchable. When used properly, hashtags connect disparate tweets from around the world into one real-time conversation. Many of these twitter conversations are actively addressing diversity inclusion, debating novel policies, introducing new procedures, assessing old practices and voicing opinions on the diversity climate writ large. One such tweet is shown in Figure 4, and serves as an illustrative case study for the capability of twitter to broadcast OXIDE content to broad audiences (6, 9, 12). One of the lessons learned through OXIDE’s engagement with social scientists is that mandatory diversity training negatively effects diversity inclusion within organizations (12–14). By accessing our twitter followers and those of the #DiversitySolutions hashtag, we were able to inform and engage OXIDE’s social media community over this issue. The content was also pushed to eight different social media communities using handles and hashtags embedded within the tweet. This corresponds to an exposure of approximately 8,000 twitter accounts. Through repeated use of social media in such targeted ways, we expect to access an even larger audience, thus expanding awareness broadly and bottom-up.

Figure 4. A typical tweet shown here illustrates the structure of OXIDE’s tweets. It was published on September 26, 2016 from the @OxideChem account using the hashtag #DiversitySolutions (5).

OXIDE’s TWUBS Platform Integrated within the OXIDE website, a permanent link to OXIDE’s TWUBS (Twitter Hub) platform connects the website’s static information to the diversity community’s free flowing and dynamic conversations. When OXIDE tweets diversity equity pertinent information, the hashtag #DiversitySolutions is appended to the tweet as a standard practice. OXIDE’s goal is for external 72 Nelson and Cheng; Diversity in the Scientific Community Volume 2: Perspectives and Exemplary Programs ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.


organizations and diversity equity advocates to also include #DiversitySolutions within their diversity equity pertinent tweets. The TWUBS platform automatically filters #DiversitySolutions tweets into a single page creating a communication forum which behaves like a counter space for diversity inclusion pertinent conversations; see Figure 5 (10). The TWUBS platform also tracks individuals using #DiversitySolutions (contributors) and allows them to participate in TWUBS forum conversations. This counter space thus offers the capability of connecting individuals from different social media cohorts and could foster real-time conversations between individuals spanning the globe.

Figure 5. An image of OXIDE’s #DiversitySolutions TWUBS portal, as accessed on March 14, 2016 (6).

Conclusion OXIDE’s social media platform aims to bridge the real-time knowledge gap with respect to diversity barriers and solutions. The social media platform enables: a free flowing conversation between organizations and champions for diversity equity, virtual seating which allows members of organizations to listen to the real-time conversation, and an opportunity for all to engage in the dialogue to the extent to which they are comfortable. If used effectively, the #DiversitySolutions hashtag and the TWUBS platform have the capacity to allow individuals within the chemistry community to contribute pertinent diversity equity material to an easily accessible forum, and to stay informed via access to real-time information. Certainly, in order for the platform to be effective, wide adoption of the #DiversitySolutions hashtag is necessary as it offers the possibility of leveling diversity barriers across chemistry departments. OXIDE continues to promote and populate its content in order to reach the tipping point of its impact. 73 Nelson and Cheng; Diversity in the Scientific Community Volume 2: Perspectives and Exemplary Programs ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

Acknowledgments This work and the OXIDE program have been jointly supported by the NIH, DOE and NSF through NSF grant #CHE-1048939. Cognizant units are the Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry Division at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) at the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Chemistry Division of the Math and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS) at the National Science Foundation (NSF).


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Iyer, S. K.; Stallings, D.; Hernandez, R. In Enabling diveristy conversations with department chairs thorough OXIDE; 252nd American Chemical Society National Meeting, Philadelphia, PA; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2016. Hernandez, R. Advancing The Chemical Sciences Through Diversity. Chem. Eng. News 2014, 92 (28), 45. Hernandez, R.; Stallings, D.; Iyer, S. K. The Gender and URM Faculty Demographics Data Collected by OXIDE. In Diversity in the Scientific Community; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017; Vol. 1255, Chapter 4. Hernandez, R.; Watt, S. A Top-Down Approach for Diversity and Inclusion in Chemistry Departments. In Careers, Entrepreneurship, and Diversity: Challenges and Opportunities in the Global Chemistry Enterprise; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2014; Vol. 1169, pp 207−224. Stallings, D.; Iyer, S. K.; Hernandez, R. Twubs: #DiversitySolutions. http:// twubs.com/DiversitySolutions [accessed September 26, 2016]. Stallings, D.; Iyer, S. K.; Hernandez, R. @OxideChem. https://twitter.com/ OxideChem [accessed March 14, 2016]. Roux, C. Safe Spaces: Human Rights Education in Diverse Diverse; Springer Science & Business Media: 2012; Vol. 5. Walker, C. Equality: Standing Out. Nature 2014, 505, 249–251. Hernandez, R. Diversity in Academia: Solutions To Get There. Chem. Eng. News 2015, 93 (33), 40. Stallings, D.; Iyer, S. K.; Hernandez, R. Linkedin/OXIDEChem. https:// www.linkedin.com/in/oxide-chem [accessed September 26, 2016]. Stallings, D.; Iyer, S. K.; Hernandez, R. Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE). http://oxide.jhu.edu/2/ [accessed September 12, 2016]. Dobbin, F.; Kalev, A. Why Diversity Programs Fail? Harvard Business Review 2016 (July−August), 52–60. Dobbin, A. K. F. Best Practices or Best Guesses?Assessing the Efficacy of CorporateAffirmative Action and Diversity Policies. Am. Soc. Rev. 2006, 71 (4), 589–617. 74

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14. Dobbin, F.; Kim, S.; Kalev, A. You can’t always get what you need: Organizational determinants of diversity programs. Am. Soc. Rev. 2011, 76 (3), 386–411.

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Accelerating Change: #DiversitySolutions on Social Media - ACS

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