ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

The diversity paradox in science: minority groups produce more scientific novelty, but their work is often overlooked

A new analysis finds that underrepresented scholars actually outperform the majority of their peers.

Mihai AndreibyMihai Andrei
August 19, 2020
in Science
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

A team analyzing data from almost all PhD graduates in the US over the past 30 years find that underrepresented groups are more likely to publish innovative research — and yet, they are less likely to earn academic positions and their innovations are more often overlooked.

Image credits: Trust “Tru” Katsande.

The diversity paradox has been discussed beforehand in different contexts. It’s expressed in slightly different ways, but the main idea is this: diversity breeds innovation, yet the groups that bring diversity tend to have less successful careers.

A new study wanted to see whether the diversity paradox also holds for scientists — spoiler alert, it does.

A team led by Bas Hofstra at Stanford University analyzed 1.2 million US doctoral recipients, following their careers into publishing and faculty positions. They used machine learning to predict people’s gender and race based on their name. This wasn’t exactly perfect and was particularly challenging for nonbinary gender, but overall, researchers expect the accuracy to be extremely high (based on a record of names, 95% of the names in the study were distinctive).

The participants were split into three racial groups: white, Asian, and underrepresented (which gathered minorities such as Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans, and any other category not in the first three).

Researchers tried to quantify the innovation, researchers looked at 3 things:

  • general novelty (the number of new ideas brought in);
  • impactful novelty (how many mentions, not citations, the papers received in the future);
  • distal novelty (linking existing ideas and combining them in new ways).

Researchers found those novel contributions by gender and racial minorities are less likely to be mentioned, even when they are equally impactful. Furthermore, equally impactful contributions of gender and racial minorities are less likely to result in successful scientific careers than for majority groups.

RelatedPosts

Puppy paws on the walls: ancient house featured unusual decorations
Fight fire with fire: toxic gut bacteria used against itself
The hunger hormone is involved in episodic memory in rats, new research finds
Life expectancy could soon go over 90, new study finds

“These results suggest there may be unwarranted reproduction of stratification in academic careers that discounts diversity’s role in innovation and partly explains the underrepresentation of some groups in academia,” the researchers note.

The authors also report that minorities produced more distal innovation than their peers, connecting ideas in new ways — which may explain a part of this effect, as these new ways are harder to accept and understand for others in science. These are the big breakthroughs, the frameworks that pull ideas from different fields together and create new theories. It is concerning that distal novelty in general, is inversely related to impactful novelty, as the study found.

In a sense, this means that for scientists it can be dangerous to be truly innovative, and minorities are less afraid — and paradoxically, they’re more likely to be punished for it.

Overall, this is signaling that minorities play an important and underappreciated role in science, the researchers conclude.

“These results suggest that the scientific careers of underrepresented groups end prematurely despite their crucial role in generating novel conceptual discoveries and innovation. Which trailblazers has science missed out on as a consequence?”

The study was published in PNAS.

ShareTweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Dr. Andrei Mihai is a geophysicist and founder of ZME Science. He has a Ph.D. in geophysics and archaeology and has completed courses from prestigious universities (with programs ranging from climate and astronomy to chemistry and geology). He is passionate about making research more accessible to everyone and communicating news and features to a broad audience.

Related Posts

Biology

The Fungus Behind the Pharaoh’s Curse Might Help Cure Leukemia

byTudor Tarita
2 hours ago
Anthropology

The Woman of Margaux: Reconstructing the Face and Life of a 10,500-Year-Old Hunter-Gatherer

byTudor Tarita
2 hours ago
Archaeology

An Overlooked Hill in Bolivia Turned Out to Be One of the Andes’ Oldest Temples

byTudor Tarita
2 hours ago
Animals

One-Third of the World’s Scavengers are Disappearing And This Could Trigger a Human Health Crisis

byRupendra Brahambhatt
2 hours ago

Recent news

The Fungus Behind the Pharaoh’s Curse Might Help Cure Leukemia

July 2, 2025

The Woman of Margaux: Reconstructing the Face and Life of a 10,500-Year-Old Hunter-Gatherer

July 2, 2025

An Overlooked Hill in Bolivia Turned Out to Be One of the Andes’ Oldest Temples

July 2, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.