Dear scientists: we stand with you and for you

Photo by Priscilla Gyamfi on Unsplash

We are witnessing attacks on science and evidence-based policymaking in the U.S. at a scale we have not experienced in our lifetimes. We, former and current members of the 500 Women Scientists leadership team, are gathering in support of our community across the world in this critical moment.

We are scientists. We are members of racial, ethnic, and religious minority groups. We are immigrants. We are people with disabilities. We are LGBTQIA+. We are parents. We are women. And we stand with scientists in the US and across the globe.

Ramping back up in 2025

Threats to science, to women, to LGBTQIA+ people, to people from historically excluded racial and ethnic backgrounds, to immigrants, to democracy, and to civil society are imminent and increasing by the hour. It feels like we have to address everything all at once, which is by design. In our first full leadership team meeting since October 2023, team members past and present decided to focus efforts on what we do best: holding scientific institutions accountable and uplifting the voices of women and gender minority scientists.

Government-led attacks on science, immigrants, education, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and marginalized communities are not new, but the scale and speed of the recent administrative actions are unprecedented. At the same time, the integration of the tech industry and the use of artificial intelligence and digital surveillance into our government is deeply concerning and is akin to adding fuel to a raging fire. Since January 20th, 65 executive orders have been signed that eliminate protections for immigrants and the environment, undermine diversity and civil rights efforts within and outside the federal government, and severely limit access to critical public health information, education, and science. A slew of executive orders focus on outright censorship, targeting programs and federal grant awards that include words related to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, climate change, women, gender, and many others; taken together, this censorship fundamentally undermines research and the ability of the federal government to tackle real challenges for real people. The president of the United States has unleashed a wrecking ball to dismantle the scaffolding of the country’s scientific enterprise. This does not just impact scientists — it impacts everyone in the U.S. and across the world.

While the attacks on science and scientists are deeply concerning, we are never just scientists and our other identities as women, people from marginalized backgrounds, immigrants, and people with disabilities are also under threat.

These Attacks on Science are Personal

• One of us is a young breast cancer patient, impacted by clinical trials being threatened to halt due to the funding freeze, budget cuts slowing research for a cure, not to mention the risk of losing health insurance and being labeled with a pre-existing condition for the rest of her life.
• One of us is a small business owner, not allowed to continue her work because of the EO ending all federal DEIA efforts, including her facilitation of workshops to make the scientific enterprise more welcoming and just; she is now worried about paying her bills.
• Several of us are professors working every day to educate the next generation of scientists and physicians. Our students’ future is suddenly full of uncertainty–critical training programs abruptly cancelled, arbitrary cuts to research funds, and existential threats to higher education. Words and work central to our research (and our students’ diverse identities!) are suddenly forbidden and are being erased. Simultaneously, we rush to hire back former trainees illegally fired from federal positions.
• One of us is losing the ability to maintain international research collaborations asUSAID and other international science programs and initiatives are eliminated.
• Many of us are reeling from the destruction of the federal workforce and continuing threats to science-based agencies across the government, including the USDA, NPS, USGS, CDC, NIH, NSF, EPA, NOAA, USAID, and more. We personally know many federal scientists who have already lost their jobs.

The entire scientific community in the U.S. and abroad is reeling in the wake of federal funding cuts, illegal terminations and hiring freezes, and increasing censorship of research related to health, climate change, environmental protection, clean energy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Even those with jobs outside of sectors currently targeted by the administration, people who are housed, healthy, and live in communities relatively insulated from the initial onslaught of attacks are still affected by the actions of this new administration. Everyone will feel the impacts of rolling back environmental protections, lack of food and drug safety measures, eradication of the use of vaccines, deregulation of the financial industry, and more. And as people lose their jobs, there will be direct and indirect impacts in their communities. When people can’t afford basic necessities and can’t pay their bills, the entire social safety net is strained and goods and services become more expensive for everyone, not just the people who have lost their jobs.

We, 500 Women Scientists, know it is critical to bear witness to what is happening, bring community together, and build collective power to fight back. We are here to stand up to the rapid normalization of fascist rhetoric and actions, to stand against cuts to science and education more broadly, and to leverage our growing community to find small and large ways to fight back. Working together, we can still win.

Where do we go from here?

Today, we recommit ourselves to our collective mission to serve society by making science open, inclusive, and accessible, and to transform society by fighting racism, patriarchy, and oppressive societal norms.

And we need you to help us bring this mission to reality.

There are several ways in which you can engage. Start by simply following us on social media (we are currently active on Medium, Instagram and Bluesky). In the coming weeks, we will share stories of how scientists are being impacted by the ongoing onslaught and provide clarity on the issues you care about: DEIA, science funding, public health, environmental protections, and more. We will share resources for science advocates on our website and through our social media channels.

If you are ready to roll up your sleeves and join us, we welcome all kinds of engagement.

• Call your elected representatives and tell them how the actions of the current administration affect you, personally and in your scientific work. Talk to your students, trainees, friends, colleagues, family about the impacts and how they can contact their representatives, too! These conversations don’t have to be ideological or political — the reality is that many people across the U.S. don’t know what scientists do and the critical roles our federal agencies play in advancing science.
• Reach out to your hometown newspaper and introduce yourself. It’s time for scientists to share what their work means and how it helps our communities.
• Read and sign our Updated Pledge to reaffirm your commitment to foundational principles of inclusion, equity, justice, and the scientific enterprise.
• Check out our Action Lab Database for easy-to-implement actions, and do what you can, when you can.
• Contribute to Action Lab by adding action items.
• Join our 500WS community
• Join our leadership team, bring your ideas, and we will leverage our capacity to move them to action.

The most important thing is to take action and remember that hope is a communal effort.

— Your former and current members of 500 Women Scientists Leadership Team

500 Women Scientists is a global non-profit organization that formed in 2016 as a response to the outcome of that US election. Our mission is to make science open, inclusive, and accessible and to fight racism, patriarchy, and oppressive societal norms.