Why Is BUDR Necessary?

The biological sciences have chronically underrepresented minority groups in both faculty and post-graduate roles. The diversity of the Canadian population is not represented in the make-up of UBC academic employees. In particular, the Botany and Zoology departments have a lower proportion of racialized, Indigenous, disabled or women-identifying faculty than in the general Canadian population. There are known socioeconomic and cultural barriers to finding and obtaining research experiences on campus. BUDR is targeting early steps in student career development to mitigate systemic and invisible barriers that lead to lowered diversity in later stages of academia. By providing opportunities not only targeted towards, but allocated for equity-seeking groups, BUDR works towards increasing inclusion in academic spaces.

 

In science, the most common extracurricular placement that leads to successive career development is an initial position in a research facility. Gaining experience in research significantly enhances a student’s resume when applying for graduate school, academic positions, and jobs within the field. It also improves a student’s chances when applying for other academic opportunities such as scholarships, grants, research assistant and teaching assistant roles, and internships. However, there are numerous barriers that can prevent a qualified and interested student from obtaining  an initial job. For first-generation students or students from immigrant backgrounds, there may be a lack of structural and bureaucratic knowledge or knowledge of unwritten rules of academia or a combination of both. Students may not know what roles or opportunities are available to help their personal and professional progression. There is no formal dissemination of this information and this can hinder a student very early in their career development and potentially stifle their ability to get future opportunities.

 

Furthermore, even when students are aware of opportunities and their benefits, they may be unable to pursue these positions. For students from low-income backgrounds, if presented with the choice between paid work and a volunteer position in a lab, there may not be a choice to make at all. The ability to perform unpaid work is a privilege not afforded to many students, yet it is commonplace, and a significant number of students’ first research experience will be unpaid. Therefore, when paid opportunities arise, undergraduate candidates with previous research experience are more likely to be successful. This problem creates another bottleneck for student progression from disenfranchised backgrounds.

 

Lastly, when looking at a faculty population that does not reflect the diversity of the general population, students belonging to underrepresented groups may feel excluded from entering that space, that a certain career path is unattainable, or doubt their ability to succeed. An example here are 2SLGBTQIA+ students, who may not recognize similarly-identifying faculty even when they exist. On the other end of the power spectrum, faculty that create and allocate these key positions for undergraduates may be subject to implicit bias. For example, requirements for outdoor experience for field positions disadvantage those from low income backgrounds, and advantage students from camping cultures. Both issues serve to create a negative feedback loop for diversity and must be addressed structurally to create tangible change.

 

What Is BUDR Doing To Address Student Needs?

BUDR has been launched to address these problems directly at the undergraduate level. The mentorship program will address knowledge gaps and create a formalized pipeline of industry and academia-specific knowledge to facilitate professional success. The micro-experience program will provide students with their first research experience and support participants with a living wage to remove financial barriers. Lastly, both components of the BUDR program promote inclusion by targeting allocation of roles towards students, and to a lesser extent mentors,  belonging to underrepresented groups. The BUDR program also recognizes that while recruiting more diverse students will mitigate barriers to entry, once in the program the student could still experience implicit bias, microaggressions, and discrimination. These are known to decrease student success and retention rates. As long-term career development in the biological sciences is a key aspect to the goals of the BUDR program, mentors will participate in workshops based on Culturally Aware Mentoring best practices. Equity, diversity and inclusivity training will mitigate negative/discouraging experiences in the program.