Dr Jodi Watt - Tokenism and the challenges of diverse recruitment

Dr Jodi Watt, narrating a new blog they wrote for the Dementia Researcher website.

Jodi's blog critically examines tokenism in academia, highlighting its impact on individuals with intersectional identities. She argues that showcasing underrepresented groups as a facade of inclusivity fails to bring about real systemic change, placing undue mental burden on those treated as tokens. This practice not only affects individual experiences and career progression but also undermines the quality and inclusivity of academic research, particularly in fields like dementia research. What needs to change? Jodi advocates for genuine inclusivity over symbolic diversity.

Find the original text, and narration here on our website.

https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-tokenism-and-the-challenges-of-diverse-recruitment/

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Dr Jodi Watt is a Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Glasgow. Jodi's academic interests are in both healthy ageing and neurodegenerative diseases of older age, and they are currently working on drug repurposing for dementia. Previously they worked on understanding structural, metabolic and physiological brain changes with age, as measured using magnetic resonance imaging. As a queer and neurodiverse person, Jodi is also incredibly interested in improving diversity and inclusion practices both within and outside of the academic context.

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Enjoy listening? We're always looking for new bloggers, drop us a line. http://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk

This podcast is brought to you in association with Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Research UK, Alzheimer's Society and Race Against Dementia, who we thank for their ongoing support.