From Gatekeeping to Gatebreaking: Leading Through Sociopolitical Pressures to Reimagine STEMM Ecosystems

Despite decades of efforts to broaden participation and open opportunity in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) fields, disparities in who participates in, advances in, benefits from, and determines the direction of STEMM remain and are widening. Globally, intense sociopolitical pressures and corresponding legal, financial, institutional, and physical threats are reshaping the norms, language, and governance of STEMM across fields and sectors. Current efforts to restrict and/or dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, programs, and practices have compelled organizations— including educational institutions, companies across industry, private and public funders, accreditation bodies, professional societies, and more—to reconsider how they define merit, belonging, academic freedom, scientific integrity, and legitimacy.

Building on classic theories of gatekeeping and systemic change, this Research Topic introduces Gatebreaking as an emergent analytical lens for understanding how a variety of actors across STEMM ecosystems and contexts can transform historically exclusionary systems even, and perhaps most critically, during periods of increasing political and ideological pressure to maintain inequities. Gatebreaking refers to the strategies through which people and organizations leverage their collective and positional influence and power not only to open pathways to and within STEMM, but to completely reimagine and re-engineer STEMM ecosystems altogether. Contributors are invited to examine how organizations are recalibrating power and influence, centering equity as mission-critical, leveraging discursive adaptations, engaging funders for structural change, and building coalitions as counterpower. This collection seeks to document the effects of political and ideological pressures on STEMM ecosystems, while highlighting ways to forge new models for public trust and engagement through lived experiences.

As policies shift and equity structures are disrupted, leaders and organizations across sectors are called to develop new approaches to safeguard inclusive practice, sustain collaboration, and reimagine legitimacy beyond compliance. The goal of this Research Topic is to analyze and deepen our understanding of both the impact of current sociopolitical and systemic forces on diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and other social justice efforts in STEMM and how diverse actors, organizations, and groups can most effectively mobilize to uphold these values and practices as ecosystem Gatebreakers.

This issue invites inquiry into how leaders, institutions, networks, and communities can collectively resist, adapt, and innovate within politically constrained environments. By highlighting strategies such as coalition-building, narrative reframing, policy adaptation, and field-level coordination, the collection seeks to advance sociological and practical understanding of how to build equitable STEMM ecosystems that endure and evolve under current pressures. Ultimately, it aims to provide a conceptual, strategic, and practical blueprint for transforming power structures and sustaining equitable participation across STEMM ecosystems. Collectively, these papers will position Gatebreaking as an evolving conceptual space for analyzing transformation and a movement for reimagining institutional futures in STEMM.

Specific Themes for Contributors to Address:
- Transdisciplinary Intersectionality informs STEMM Ecosystem Gatebreaking (Solutions to Key Issues)
- Higher Education C-Suite Administrative Support Mechanisms that inform STEMM Ecosystem Gatebreaking (How might your organization’s leadership and key decision makers be influencing change and/or solutions in this space?)
- Examples of solutions driven by the intersectionality of policy and practical methods (What populations are directly impacted?)

We invite contributions examining the social, political, organizational, and policy dimensions of change and resistance across STEMM ecosystems in the current context, particularly those that incorporate trans- and inter-disciplinary approaches and intersectional perspectives that consider overlapping systems of power and oppression, such as racism, colonialism, xenophobia, sexism, transphobia, heterosexism, ableism, classism, ageism, and more. Contributors are encouraged to explore any educational and career stages, STEMM disciplines, organization types, and sectors. Possible themes include:

- Institutional, organizational, and grassroots strategies that sustain equity amid political and institutional constraints
- Shifts in governance, policy, and language across higher education, professional networks, funding, and accreditation
-Cross-sector collaborations that reimagine access, participation, accountability, and public trust
- Analyses of policy backlash, compliance cultures, and innovation under pressure
- Emerging models of justice-oriented leadership and organizational change


We invite original research articles, conceptual and theoretical analyses, systematic reviews, policy and practice reviews, perspectives, case studies, opinions, and more. Submissions, no matter the type, should demonstrate a range of strategies and approaches that organizations may take in creating methodologies, strategies, and evidence-based solutions through the lens of Gatebreaking.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review

Keywords: STEMM, equity, inclusion, intersectionality, systemic change, leadership, law, policy, politics, justice, funding, collaboration, stratification, education, careers, professional societies, academic freedom, transdisciplinary

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.