Biotech firms in San Diego are beginning to ask how they can be more diverse, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
It writes there are numerous factors that may be keeping Black and Hispanic or Latino individuals out of biotech, such as recruiting new hires from within small networks, a lack of diversity within the academic pipelines that feed into those networks, and explicit and implicit bias. And once hired, the Union-Tribune says minorities often have to work harder to gain the same recognition.
"I think this is a good opportunity now, with George Floyd, where we can all go back and really reflect and find ways out of systemic racism," Paul Mola, CEO at Roswell Biotechnologies, who is Black, tells the Union-Tribune. "And, by God, what many don't understand is that we all get better. The society gets stronger. The country gets stronger."
The paper adds that the issue of low diversity in biotech isn't specific to San Diego and that the Biotechnology Innovation Organization is to release a number diversity-focused plans, including one aimed at connecting companies and job candidates from underrepresented groups.