Fostering a diverse and inclusive American Chemical Society

Abstract

Elevating the voices of and including people of color is essential for advancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), particularly for people of races and ethnicities that are underrepresented in US academic institutions. The National Science Foundation defines these races as Black, Hispanic, Latino, and Indigenous peoples, and there are valid arguments to also include Southeast Asian people as underrepresented. US higher education has a lack of racial and ethnic diversity, with less than 15% in faculty roles as of 2020. Chemistry departments in the US have even less representation, with only 5.4% of Black, Hispanic, Latino, and Indigenous faculty members as of 2018. The Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA) was established in 1993 by the American Chemical Society to address the racial and ethnic underrepresentation in ACS membership. The most recently updated vision of CMA is to “diversify chemistry through the transforming power of inclusion and equity.” CMA’s mission