Reply to Couée: We agree that we need more linguistic diversity in science.

We applaud Ivan Couée’s thoughtful response to our perspective “Inequality in Science and the Case for a New Agenda” (1). The purpose of our piece was to begin the conversation on factors that impede full inclusion of individuals and groups into the community of science. We spent most of our attention on factors of particular relevance to the situation of racially subordinated groups in the United States. However, we recognize that there are other factors that play a role in diminishing the diversity of the scientific enterprise. Couée brought to our collective attention that it is important to recognize the role that the hegemony of English language plays as a danger to linguistic diversity within science (2). It also limits the full participation in the scientific enterprise in ways that cannot be fully appreciated. After all, part of the reason that Mendel’s work was ignored by English and American scientists for 40 y was because it was originally published in German. Given the scope of the issues facing particularly historically underdeveloped portions of the world, improving the linguistic diversity of the scientific literature will be increasingly important.