Although diversity is an important part of our world, it is common knowledge that in some fields, such as the STEM field, female representation is lacking which takes from the full diversity that can be achieved. It is known that women only make up about 25% of the STEM workforce but make up roughly half our society. I have written in the past that an increase in female representation in the STEM fields will lead toward greater innovation and societal advancement. Although many studies have been done to understand why there is a lack of women in STEM and what can be done about it, it has been shown that the problem is multifactorial and it is up to us as society to establish ways in which we can inspire and include more women in STEM.
In order to promote diversity in the sciences, the Director of NIH has recently made an announcement where he is seeking to promote the inclusion of women in speaking panels, thereby giving women a chance to show their skills, research and ideas to the broader audience. In his own words, Dr. Francis S. Collins indicated that he will only participate as a speaker on panels where there has been an effort made to ensure there has been inclusivity. Dr. Collins, who led the Human Genome Project and is pioneer in his field, states: "I will expect a level playing field, where scientists of all backgrounds are evaluated fairly for speaking opportunities. If that attention to inclusiveness is not evident in the agenda, I will decline to take part. I challenge other scientific leaders across the biomedical enterprise to do the same." In this way, he hopes to serve as a role model and set a standard for the greater scientific community, which will aim to foster an inclusive community.