Valeria Ramirez Castañeda, Ph.D. Candidate in the Integrative Biology Department at the University of California Berkeley presents “Dominance of the English language as a barrier to science”.

The success of a scientist depends on their production of scientific papers and the impact factor of the journal in which they publish. Because most major scientific journals are published in English, success is related to publishing in this language. Thus, understanding the disadvantages that English as a Foreign Language (EFL) scientists face in publishing is crucial to reducing global inequality in science. Although having a common language is important for science communication, generating multilinguistic alternatives would promote diversity while conserving a communication channel. Such an effort should come from different actors and should not fall solely on EFL researchers. Overall, this presentation exhibited the negative consequences of the hegemony of English that preserves the global gap in science and ideas to face this barrier.