Marcia McNutt, President, National Academy of Sciences
Since I issued my statement (http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/leadership/president/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-statement.html) on racial inequality as president of the National Academy of Sciences, many scientists have written asking how they can help rectify this situation. Sadly, I believe that in the past science has been, or at least was perceived to have been, part of the problem rather than part of the solution. We hope we have put behind us the sorry history of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOCs) being unwilling or coerced participants in human trials for biomedical experiments and that we have enacted policies and procedures to prevent such unethical practices. Yet, even today, science can exacerbate the equality divide in subtle and more pervasive ways.