"While to a certain extent, I do agree that organizations will thrive with a more diverse workforce due to the difference in experience and the ways in which we all think, we not only have to focus efforts on recruitment but also retention, and to do the latter, there needs to be a cultural shift at the organizational level."
Jessica Esquivel is a Black Mexican and American physicist and science communicator, working at the Muon g-2 particle physics experiment at Fermilab. She is an advocate for gender and racial equity in science, and a lead organiser of #BlackInPhysics, a campaign to recognize and amplify the work of Black physicists worldwide. She was also selected as an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador in 2019.
"The secrets of our universe dont discriminate, these secrets can and should be unraveled by all those who wish to embark on that journey, and my aim is to clear as many barriers and leave these physics spaces better than I entered them."
Jessica Esquivel"Once I got to college and took my first college-level course, I knew that physics was what I wanted to study. I learned about quantum superposition and Schrodingers cat. It blew my mind, and as they say, the rest is history!"
Jessica Esquivel"For me, physics isnt physics without outreach."
Jessica Esquivel"I think there was a lack of understanding around the police killings and how they mentally and emotionally affect Black people. But I think my colleagues are listening and want to learn, and the lab is responsive."
Jessica Esquivel"People say the South is racist, but it wasnt until I moved north that I was really barraged with microaggressions on a daily basis. One instance was when I was sick and missed a couple of days of classes. This was reported to my adviser as my having missed weeks of coursework. When I was in class I was ignored, but when I was not there I stuck out like a sore thumb. Its hard to separate your microaggressions when you deal with intersecting minoritized identities. Was it because I was the only woman? The only Black person? The only Mexican? The only lesbian?"
Jessica Esquivel"We want to make a cultural shift in physics, and we have laid out seven strategic goals. They include hiring Black scientists, restructuring leadership and decision-making entities, and investing in Black communities."
Jessica Esquivel