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Citizenship a determining factor in a geoscientist’s career

Nature Geoscience volume 16, pages 550–551 (2023)Cite this article

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There has been much discussion about the lack of diversity in geoscience, but the statistics available mainly inform us about ethnicities in certain countries, and do not distinguish between different nationalities1,2. However, not all passports are created equal: nationality can greatly affect a geoscientist’s career and the opportunities available to them.

Although the details vary by country, the limitations of some visas and resident permits offered to scientists with low rank passports, such as single-entry visas, can make these researchers vulnerable to academic bullying6,7. It can also prevent geoscientists with low rank passports from undertaking fieldwork for their research or attending certain conferences, and creates barriers for researchers with spouses and families, whether through physical separation or financial burden (for example, if a spouse is not permitted to work). Although some researchers may be able to reside long enough in a country to qualify for another nationality that could provide better systemic opportunities, short-term contracts and the emphasis on mobility as an asset in academia are in opposition to this.

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Fig. 1: Global index rankings of 2022.

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Acknowledgements

I thank F. Akbarashrafi, B. Böök, A. Deuss, C. Lewis, A. Moreno, A. Pérez de Alba Ortíz, C. P. Porras, A. Rijal, M. Ronda-Lloret and D. Vargas for all the shared discussions regarding the challenges international geoscientists face, and for their helpful feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IGPP, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Sujania Talavera-Soza

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Sujania Talavera-Soza

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  1. Sujania Talavera-Soza
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Correspondence to Sujania Talavera-Soza.

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Talavera-Soza, S. Citizenship a determining factor in a geoscientist’s career. Nat. Geosci. 16, 550–551 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01221-3

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