Have you ever heard of the term "people that are a vitamin"? In Spain, we use the term “personas vitamina” to refer to people who inspire and motivate us! Don’t believe me? Let me tell you—I found one in the Thomas building at Fred Hutch: Dr. Christina Termini, an assistant professor in the Translational Science and Therapeutics Division.
In addition to her research regarding how blood stem cells are regulated and how these processes can be hijacked during stress and disease, Dr. Termini is committed to paving the way for the next generation of underrepresented minorities in science. When I asked her what motivates her, she said, “it’s personal.” As a first-generation college graduate and Hispanic scientist, she is motivated to advocate for a more diverse and inclusive scientific community.
Dr. Termini has published a number of manuscripts aimed at making science, particularly academic science more equitable. The latest contribution to this effort is an examination of bias in letters of recommendation. This is critical because research has shown that in letters of recommendation written supporting applicants for academic positions, men are more likely to be described as "excellent" and "outstanding" while women and underrepresented minorities are more likely to be described as "compassionate" and "enthusiastic." Although these descriptions are positive, the subtle gender normative difference between “excellent” and “compassionate” contributes to a lack of diversity in academia. Thankfully, there are ways to ensure that letters of recommendation are less bias: a recent publication by Dr. Termini and her colleagues discussed approaches that we can use as letter writers, letter requesters, and reviewers to help reduce bias in letters of recommendation.
As letter writers, we can educate ourselves on how to overcome subconscious bias. There are a number of organizations that host workshops regarding bias in recommendations, including the American Society for Cell Biology. Furthermore, we can use online gender-bias calculators to get a sense of whether letters of recommendation are biased. Importantly, these tools can provide authors with feedback on how to remove bias from their letters. We usually write letters of recommendation because we have been involved in someone's life, so we are able to give examples of their strengths, insights into their values, and why we are recommending them. Hence, gathering as much information as possible is essential for writing a strong letter of recommendation. Toward this end, Dr. Termini designed a letter request form to be filled out by the requester to consolidate the information that the writer needs to convey a strong recommendation. You can download this form for free from her website: organizō.
When requesting a letter of recommendation, it is important to consider who can write a supportive and strong letter for us. According to Dr. Termini, we need to ask ourselves four questions: 1) who knows us well, 2) who will dedicate the time required to write a strongly supportive letter, 3) who has the appropriate insight to provide the request information, and 4) who we can trust to submit the letter on time. As soon as we identify who will write the letter, we need to provide them with all the materials they might need, such as a CV, a career statement, or research strategy, depending on the application. Furthermore, we need to inform them about the application deadline and criteria, etc. All of these questions are included in the aforementioned application form.
Now, how can we minimize bias on the part of the reviewers? According to Dr. Termini, one approach is to use standardized letters of recommendation. This helps the review committee to “assess letters according to consistent guidelines.” Additionally, “review committees should thoughtfully create and share a rubric that will be used to evaluate these letters.” A rubric can promote objectivity when evaluating letters, “reducing bias and eliminating stigma from individuals with non-traditional letter-writers (i.e., non-advisors).” So, what is the best course of action? Although there is not a definitive answer, “revisiting this aspect of recommendations is necessary to make recommendations more inclusive.”
Despite our best efforts, we may all have biases of which we are unaware, and unfortunately, these biases can sometimes manifest themselves in our writing. Having unbiased language isn't just a matter of being politically correct. Using unbiassed language conveys the message that you are committed to inclusivity. You demonstrate that you genuinely care and have taken the time to learnhow to express yourself in a way that creates a sense of belonging for everyone.
Our scientific community needs more researchers like Dr. Termini who are advocating for a more diverse group of scientists. I hope I convinced you that Dr. Termini is a “persona vitamina.” In addition to advocating for more underrepresented minorities in STEM, Dr. Termini also shares her journey as a new principal investigator at Fred Hutch through social media. Representation matters! You cannot be what you cannot see!
Fred Hutch/University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium member Dr. Christina Termini contributed to this work.
Chang VY, Munson M, Termini CM. Approaches to address bias in letters of recommendation. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2023 Jun;44(6):321-323. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2023.03.002.