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Women Scientists Call on President Trump in Open Letter

Published: Jan 25, 2017

Women Scientists Call on President Trump in Open Letter January 24, 2017
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

WASHINGTON – Taking a bold step against “anti-science and anti-knowledge sentiments” from the White House and supporters of President Donald Trump, a group called 500 Women Scientists penned an open letter to the president seeking greater support not only of scientific progress, but also of the women in the field.

In the letter, the women scientists call upon the president to foster an environment of innovation, inclusivity and equal rights in order to grow American innovation over Trump’s first term in office. The women published the letter in Forbes and also launched a website, 500womenscientists.org, explaining their position and concerns about the current political climate. Shortly after taking office, the new administration removed a web page dealing with climate change from the White House website. Human-caused effects on climate change have been a contentious political point, with opponents questioning the research and any policies that would limit industry to curb it.

“Science is foundational in a progressive society, fuels innovation, and touches the lives of every person on this planet. The anti-knowledge and anti-science sentiments expressed repeatedly during the U.S. presidential election threaten the very foundations of our society. Our work as scientists and our values as human beings are under attack. We fear that the scientific progress and momentum in tackling our biggest challenges, including staving off the worst impacts of climate change, will be severely hindered under this next U.S. administration. Our planet cannot afford to lose any time,” the open letter on the website leads off saying.

500 Women Scientists was formed in November following Trump’s election. Since the letter first went live on the website, it has gained 12,535 signatures from 101 different countries.

But for the women scientists, it’s not just about seeking validation of scientific research regarding climate change, but also an appeal to inclusivity.

“Scientific progress is built on diversity and innovation and only works when we encourage openness and contribution from everyone - scientists of different genders, races, classes, creeds, cultures, and perspectives. Encouraging such inclusivity ensures that scientific research is critically evaluated from every angle. Just like a business, science fails when it is done in a vacuum with a small number of like-minded voices,” the women scientists said in a newly penned Forbes letter. In the letter, the women said that as president, Trump has the opportunities to “set the priorities of the vast American scientific enterprise.”

In an appeal to support for future innovation, the women scientists posed eight measures to the president to “promote women and our contributions to society and to science.” Those points, taken from the Forbes letter, are:

1. Appoint top accredited science advisors to promote evidence-based policy development;

2. Continue to support federal funding for basic, medical, environmental, and social science research;

3. Support environmental protection so that all Americans can have access to clean air and clean water;

4. Strengthen the US’s role as a global leader in climate action by investing in clean, low carbon energy and climate research;

5. Ensure equitable access to strong science education from pre-K to higher education;

6. Increase accessibility to science and scientific careers to women and people of color;

7. Promote equality in pay for women;

8. Encourage employers to provide family-friendly work environments, including provision of paid maternity and paternity leave.

In addition to the letter, some women scientists joined the hundreds of thousands of men and women on Jan. 21 for the activist Women’s March in Washington, D.C. Several of the scientists told Nature they were concerned about policies the administration may put in place that could hinder scientific research, including possible disruptions at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Erin DiMaggio, a geoscientist at Pennsylvania State University, who participated in the D.C. march, told Nature she was concerned because the new administration is “not supporting evidence-based anything.”

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