Challenges, discomfort, resistance, and strategic ways forward: addressing researcher resistance to EDI principles in Canadian NSE research

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are increasingly recognized as foundational to research excellence, yet many researchers in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE) remain uncertain about, or resistant to, integrating EDI principles into their work. In this Perspectives article, we examine how discomfort, confusion, and active resistance to EDI arise within Canadian NSE research cultures shaped by historically narrow notions of merit, objectivity, and excellence. Drawing on scholarship in research culture, behaviour, and organizational change, as well as literature on ethics and bias, we analyze common forms of resistance, from passive apathy and performative compliance to overt backlash, anti-“woke” rhetoric, and zero-sum thinking. We then outline practical, evidence-informed strategies for researchers, teams, institutions, and funders to recognize, interpret, and respond to these dynamics in ways that reduce friction, protect those advancing EDI, and keep momentum toward culture change. As a companion to Webb and Coe (submitted), which focuses on funder-level interventions, this paper centres the everyday practices and decision points where EDI, ethics, and excellence intersect in NSE research.