Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in Our Professions: A Thin and Leaky Pipeline

The world is moving forward and our leaders appear to be set to make Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) a household name. The DEI abbreviation has become a frequent topic appearing on many agendas, it appears in publications and lectures, studies are devoted to it, symposiums are being organized, committees are sprouting up, and politicians say they are committed to it. There is no doubt, DEI has become a topic for the working and political worlds. Governments, universities, and many organisations are setting quotas to achieve DEI. Yet, data shows that in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professions, DEI is lagging, thus begging the questions: “Where is DEI standing in STEM?” and “Why should we, as STEM researchers and as a not for profit scientific society be devoted to DEI?”