Nine Tips to Help You When You Are a Minority

I should use a magnifying glass to be able to see the percentage of underrepresented minority women in the graph above. This graph, published in a paper written by officials from the NIH, shows the percentage of women and men underrepresented in academia (African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander...) and those that are "well-represented" (White, Asian).(1)
According to the paper, underrepresented minority women make up a healthy proportion of graduate degrees awarded, but our numbers dwindle at the highest levels of academia. There are hardly any tenured full professors who are women of color. I care about this because I am indeed a Puerto Rican, female, tenured professor, and I am NIH-funded.
Although the reality of this lack of people who look like me in academia stares me in the face every morning when I arrive at work, seeing it depicted in this graph makes me feel even lonelier.
I swear that I try to do my part to increase the numbers of underrepresented men and women in academia: I mentor. I develop and get funding for training programs. I recruit. I create networks. But there are many forces that contribute to the attrition of women and minorities from the highest levels in academia. Loneliness is certainly one that I can attest to, and also discrimination and exclusion, both subtle and overt. It seems to me that students come to academia, they see the struggle, and they leave thinking "I don't want to put myself through that". And I understand.
Many minority students have asked me "How do you do it?" "How do you persist?". Here are some of the things that I hope can help underrepresented students and faculty, both male and female, survive and thrive in academia:

1. Don't take it personally: When you feel excluded from meetings or opportunities in your job, and this happens repeatedly, it can really take a toll and erode your confidence. If you can objectively say that the reason for your exclusion is not due to your lack of expertise, then you must realize that the problem is probably not YOU. Realizing that someone else who looks like you may experience the same issues will take the burden off of you. If you are doing your best and are competent in what you do and you find that you are still excluded from opportunities at your job, know that you are not the problem. Discrimination or unconscious bias, whatever you want to call it, can destroy the confidence of even the most talented person. Don't let it get to you.
2. Question the reasons for your exclusion: Not taking things personally doesn't mean do not take an activist role. For example, if you find out that a meeting is happening to which you should have been invited because of your expertise, ask why you were excluded. Unconcious bias causes us to become invisible because we are just not thought of as "members of the club". I once was excluded from a business trip because the planning for it happened among colleagues who lived in the same high-income neighborhood. Since I live in a racially-diverse neighborhood, I was not thought of for the business trip even though it was in my core area of expertise. 'Out of sight, out of mind', so to speak. When I spoke up, the oversight was corrected and I was asked to lead the business trip. Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands and advocate for yourself.
3. Keep your head up: And I mean that literally. Experiencing persistent and repeated instances of exclusion due to overt racism or unconscious bias takes a toll on even the most confident person. Very few people can manage that without it eroding their own self-confidence. I know it can be very hard, but remind yourself of how far you have already come, in spite of all the obstacles. One of the hardest battles you are probably going to face is the one inside yourself. Maintain your dignity and know your worth.
4. Educate yourself: Even if your area of expertise has nothing to do with human resources, be armed with some knowledge about these issues. Become the "go-to" person in your department who knows about this stuff. It doesn't take getting a degree in race dynamics to become the most knowledgeable person in your office about underrepresentation in the workplace. Just by reading a few key articles you will likely be the most learned person on this subject among your coworkers and superiors. Share this information whenever you can.
5. Find allies: Is there someone in a position of power who understands your value? This person doesn't have to be someone of color. Mentors are important allies for sure, but there may be other people in your circle or just outside your immediate circle of colleagues who can also act as champions for your career. Is there a chairman who has cited your work at presentations? Is there a full professor whose lab you rotated through as a postdoc? Is there a course leader whom you helped as a teaching assistant? These can be people who can help you in times of crisis.
6. Laugh in the face of bias - This is hard. I know that feeling discriminated against is no joke. But as my mother says: "Hay que reir para no llorar". There have been times when I have found that a little laughter has made the truth bombs land more effectively. For instance, I was once asked to give a talk at a government agency. The meeting had been set up by email, so the organizers had never met me in person. During a coffee break, while I was checking the microphone, the head of the agency came to me and said: "Hello, are you Dr. Claudio's secretary? I'd like to meet him". Without missing a beat, I replied: "Surprise! I am Dr. Claudio, pleased to meet you". Noticing his awkward discomfort, I added with a smile: "Relax, it is a good surprise." After he recovered, he asked me if I would write a chapter for their report. I answered with a smile: "I would be delighted" and then I gave a killer presentation.
7. Defend others: Sometimes we can find it difficult to argue against unconscious bias out of fear that our actions may be viewed as self-serving. For many of us, it's easier to defend others than to do it for ourselves. If this is how you feel, find a more junior person who can use your help. Be a champion for someone else in your situation.
8. Propose solutions: Does it really help to complain about the lack of underrepresented minorities in your organization but do nothing about it? Propose some solutions. When your department announces positions available, distribute the announcements among your networks. Help identify seminar speakers from diverse backgrounds. Bring up the issue of diversity at meetings. Don't worry about sounding like a broken record, always being the one to bring up the issue of diversity. So what? Soon enough, others will catch on and you will not be the only one raising their hand about this.
9. Mentor: Being an underrepresented minority is a lonely feeling. It can be difficult to be the only person of color in your office. If you feel this way, surround yourself with students who need mentoring. Let it be known that you are a great mentor to other students, particularly for those who are underrepresented minorities. The word will spread and soon enough you will have more people who look like you around you because it will be known that you are a person to go to for advice and solidarity. You can help yourself by helping others.

Not everyone will agree with these ideas, but these are things that have helped me cope over the years. Some people may find these ideas not aggressive enough. Others may see them as too much. Somehow, I have managed to survive and in some ways, thrive in academia. These are some things that I would have told my younger self if I had known what I know now. This is how I persist.
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1. Valantine HA, Lund PK, Gammie AE. From the NIH: A systems approach to increasing the diversity of the biomedical research workforce. CBE Life Sciences Education 15: fe4,1-5, 2016