Featured in the Weekly Digest:
October 21, 2024:
“EDI at Every Level: Inequities and Under-Representation in STEM" In this article, Canadian STEM graduate students, working with the Canadian Science Policy Centre, discuss the good and bad of current EDI policies and possible solutions - including links to a number of primary resources.
October 15, 2024:
The UofT EDI in Research and Innovation Office has a long list of resources and contacts, including a handbook just update in May on "EDI in Research Teams and Training: Promising Practices and Resources Handbook." The UTM office offers specific consultations, and the VPRI office can help review EDI sections of grants if given enough time.
September 30, 2024:
“Inclusive Academic Cultures: Ideas for Making Change” - The Toronto Initiative for Diversity & Excellence (TIDE) and the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) have developed four approximately 30 min Unconscious Bias Education Modules. The recently released 4th module offers practical steps that can be taken to improve the climate and culture of an academic unit and may serve as an interesting starting point for discussions.
Faculty, staff, and librarians access here: New-unconscious-bias-education-module
Students and other community members access here: https://www.toronto-tide.ca/education-modules/
July 2, 2024: Social Identity Map: A Reflexivity Tool for Practicing Explicit Positionality in Critical Qualitative Research (2019) by Jacobson & Mustafa
This article presents the Social Identity Map, a flexible reflexivity tool designed to help researchers explicitly identify and reflect on their social identities and positionality, thereby enhancing their understanding of how these factors influence their research process and interactions with participants.
June 24, 2024: Addressing unconscious coloniality and decolonizing practice in geosciences in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2021)
Author Ashley Klymiuk addresses how unconscious coloniality perpetuates inequity in geoscience, advocating for decolonizing practices that empower individuals to challenge and dismantle colonial systems, thereby promoting greater inclusivity of Indigenous peoples in STEM fields.
June 17, 2024: Is This the End for Mandatory D.E.I. Statements? in the New York Times (2024)
This article delves into the recent decision by institutions like Harvard and MIT to no longer require applicants for teaching positions to detail how they would support underrepresented groups. This move signals a potential shift in higher education hiring practices, with other schools possibly following suit. The article explores the implications of this change and its potential impact on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in academia- as it’s important to stay updated on current developments.
June 10, 2024: Hostile climates are barriers to diversifying the geosciences in Advances in Geosciences (2020) by Marin-Spiotta, Barnes, et al.
This article discuss the struggle in the US geosciences with diversity due to historical exclusion and biases, requiring initiatives like ADVANCEGeo to foster inclusivity and reshape institutional structures for true transformation.
June 3, 2024: Reflect on Your Positionality to Ensure Student Success in Inside Higher Edu (2022)
Author Christine Harrington emphasizes that faculty should reflect on their identities, experiences, and potential biases to improve teaching practices and foster a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for diverse students.
May 27, 2024: Amplifying the voices of diverse scholars to integrate culture in the Earth Sciences in Journal of Geoscience Education (2022) by Todd, W., Atchison, C., & White, L
The VOICES program aims to enhance diversity in the Earth sciences by addressing barriers and fostering inclusion through a framework focused on Identity, Belonging, Place, and Security, ultimately promoting equity and innovation.
May 21, 2024: LGBTQI+ allyship in academia in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2021)
Author Anson Mackay discusses their experiences in their career in geosciences, outlining that despite his career success, he faced significant discrimination as an openly scientist, highlighting the urgent need for allyship in STEM to combat the exclusion and harassment of LGBTQI+ individuals and create a more inclusive environment through active, continuous efforts and self-education.
May 13, 2024: What Lies Beneath Seemingly Positive Campus Climate Results: Institutional Sexism, Racism, and Male Hostility Toward Equity Initiatives and Liberal Bias (2010) Equity & Excellence in Education
Author Annemarie Vaccaro discusses gender differences in perceptions of campus climate at a predominantly white university, revealing men's resistance to diversity efforts, resentment towards liberal bias, and symbolic racism, stressing the importance of addressing institutional sexism alongside men's disengagement and hostility through climate research-driven institutional change.
May 6, 2024: A Simple Act of Defiance Can Improve Science for Women (2024)
Author Dr. Toby Kiers shares her personal journey, illustrating the common dilemma among women scientists regarding balancing career aspirations with family responsibilities. She advocates for a transformative approach where bringing children on scientific expeditions becomes an act of feminist defiance, leading to enriched scientific perspectives and challenging conventional norms in academia.
April 29, 2024: Two-Eyed Seeing and the Language of Healing in Community-Based Research (2009) by Iwama et al.
This article introduces a community participation model of research and teaching intended to restore health and make the university a welcoming place for Indigenous peoples. Cape Breton University's Institute for Integrative Science and Health draws on the strengths of Indigenous and Western knowledges, basing its integrative Indigenist practice on the guiding principle of "Two-Eyed Seeing" and linguistic components of health such as the Mi'kmaq "healing tense." Critical analysis and dramatic reenactment describe efforts to revitalize language and restore relationships with each other and with the land.
April 22, 2024: Don’t leave us behind: The importance of mentoring for underrepresented minority faculty (2015) by Zambrana et al.
The article delves into the mentoring experiences of underrepresented minority faculty at research-extensive institutions, highlighting the critical role of lifelong social capital accumulation, challenges related to undervalued research areas and community engagement, and the importance of mentors who understand the specific struggles faced by URMs in predominantly White institutions for increasing retention and success.
April 15, 2024: Women end up doing the academic housework Kifinfo (2024) by Gunn Kvalsvik
This article discusses a recent study conducted in Danish academia revealed that male associate professors, in particular, actively avoided participating in service work if it did not benefit their careers, leaving these responsibilities largely to women, a pattern that was surprisingly distinct according to the researchers.
April 8, 2024: From ‘Wonka’ to ‘Bridgerton’: Hollywood’s Fantasy of A Magical, Colorblind Past by Kabir Chibber (New York Times, 2024)
Kabir Chibber critiques Hollywood's trend of reimagining history through a racially inclusive lens, coined as the "Magical Multiracial Past," arguing that while aiming for inclusivity, these narratives often sanitize and erase the complexities of actual historical events.
April 1, 2024: Team-Teaching Anti-Oppression with Diverse Faculty: Challenges and Opportunities by Garran, Aymer & Miller (Social Work Education, 2015)
Here’s an article that explores the complexities of team-teaching anti-oppression courses with diverse faculty, discussing challenges and opportunities that arise. It highlights the importance of creating a supportive environment, fostering open communication, and addressing power dynamics to effectively navigate these challenges and capitalize on the potential benefits of diverse perspectives.
March 25, 2024: A framework for addressing the lack of diversity in the Geosciences through evaluating the current structure of institutional efforts by Guhlincozzi and Cisneros (GeoJournal, 2022)
This article explores how universities can form partnerships by supporting community geography projects, using the example of organizing a Geosciences camp to expand educational opportunities and diversity within the university, analyzing the process and outcomes to offer insights for future sustainable partnerships.
March 18, 2024: A Science, Technology, Society, and Environmental Impact Assignment for Senior-Level Analytical Chemistry Students, The Journal of Chemical Education, Piunno & Shahmuradyan (2024)
Here’s an article from Anna Shahmuradyan and Paul Piunno about a new type of assignment developed for CHM311 that bridges the gap between analytical chemistry education and broader social justice and environmental issues. The assignment was designed as a self-guided, student-centred learning experience that places the student in control of the learning process to invoke both active engagement and autonomy as they explore an area of analytical chemistry aligned with their personal interests. The provision of choice was done to be consistent with a decolonized approach to assignment design in which students can experience a more active role in their learning experience through the provision of freedom to explore and communicate their perspectives, particularly with regard to the sociopolitical, cultural, and environmental discourse that they incorporate in their reports. The assignment was also designed to incorporate universal design for learning practices, where students were given the option to prepare their report either as a written report or a video presentation, based on whichever format they felt would best enable them to communicate their research work.
March 11, 2024: A Perspective on Being Black and in STEM, The Journal of Organic Chemistry, Gonzalez (2024)
Here’s an article from Aria Gonzalez who reflects her journey as a Black individual in STEM, highlighting the initial barriers faced due to a lack of representation, recounts her discovery of passion for chemistry/research, emphasizes the importance of diversity in STEM fields, and expresses gratitude for initiatives promoting inclusion.
March 4, 2024: Feeling Relieved: Creating a Positive Bathroom Field Culture in the Geosciences by Synder & Reynolds (GSA Today, 2024)
Here’s an article underscores the importance of addressing bathroom culture in geosciences fieldwork due to its impact on workers' well-being and safety, advocating for enhanced communication and proactive measures among participants, leaders, and organizers to ensure inclusivity and positive bathroom space during fieldwork. Read more here:
February 26, 2024: A UK perspective on tackling the geoscience racial diversity crisis in the Global North — Research Explorer The University of Manchester by Dowey, Barclay, et al. (Nature Geoscience, 2021)
This article highlights the historical ties between geoscience and colonialism, emphasizing the need for diversity and inclusion in the field. It presents data showing the lack of racial diversity in UK geoscience postgraduate research and proposes actionable steps, including decolonizing curricula, improving representation, removing barriers, and implementing long-term initiatives to create a more inclusive and equitable geoscience community.
February 20, 2024: Barriers to the Successful Mentoring of Faculty of Color by Davis, Jones, Russell & Settles (Journal of Career and Development, 2021)
The study examines the mentoring challenges faced by faculty of color (FOC) in academia, revealing four main obstacles—negative experiences, mentor availability, institutional support gaps, and post-tenure mentorship deficiencies—underscoring the necessity of addressing these barriers for FOC's career advancement and retention.
February 5, 2024: View to the U podcast with Scott Jess and Lindsay Schoenbohm (2024)
This week’s EDI post is featuring our own Prof. Lindsay Schoenbohm and her former postdoc and now a faculty member at Washington State University, Prof. Scott Jess. As part of this podcast, they talk about their research field and how they undertook their collaboration titled A Demographic Survey of Canadian Academic Geosciences, which was published in 2023.
January 29, 2024: ‘America Is Under Attack’: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. Crusade by Nicholas Confessore (New York Times, 2023)
Confessore writes about a conservative group called the Claremont Institute is fighting against what they see as "woke" ideas, especially in colleges, by offering workshops and materials to defend free speech and traditional American beliefs, representing a broader conservator backlash seen in ongoing debate over issues such as free speech, identity politics, and the role of institutions in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
January 22, 2024: The role of media in influencing students’ STEM career interest by Chen, et al. (IJ STEM Ed, 2023)
While watching STEM-related TV shows and videos and playing STEM-related video games did not directly impact students’ STEM career interests, they did impact students’ STEM identity and career outcome expectations.
January 15, 2024: Women in Academia: Representation, Tenure, and Publication. by J. Krebsbach (The Journal of International Women’s Studies, 2022)
The article examines the inequities faced by women in academia, particularly in terms of representation, tenure, and publication patterns in STEM and social sciences fields, highlighting disparities in various aspects such as professorship levels, interactions on campus, expectations for success, and significant gender disparities observed in academic publication, concluding with recommendations for future research, including the inclusion of people of color in academia.
January 8, 2024: Claudine Gay: What Just Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me. by (New York Times)
Following the recent change in Harvard’s leadership last week, here is a guest essay on the New York Times by Dr. Claudine Gay.
December 18, 2023: The Fall of Penn’s President Brings Campus Free Speech to a Crossroads. by (New York Times)
A thought-provoking article on the New York Times on free speech.
December 11, 2023: The future of the postdoc by K. Powell
The article discusses the growing number of postdocs and the limited opportunities for advancement in academia, proposing potential solutions such as salary increases, term limits, and the creation of senior staff scientist positions to address the challenges faced by postdoctoral researchers.
December 4, 2023: Informing the Fact: Inuit Traditional Knowledge Contributes Another Perspective by J. Zamparo (Geoscience Canada, 1996)
Here’s an interesting article that discusses the differences between Inuit traditional knowledge and western science views and how to unite these different perspectives.
November 20, 2023: No progress on diversity in 40 years by Rachel E. Bernard & Emily H. G. Cooperdock (Nature Geoscience, 2018)
The article highlights the persistent lack of ethnic and racial diversity among recipients of doctorates in earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences in the United States over four decades, despite efforts to increase diversity, emphasizing the need for targeted actions to attract and retain graduate students from underrepresented groups and stressing the importance of diversity in fostering scientific innovation and ensuring representation from all backgrounds.
November 13, 2023: Scientists from historically excluded groups face a hostile obstacle course. by Berhe, et al. (The Nature Journal, 2021)
Here’s an interesting article published by The Nature Journal on Scientists from historically excluded groups face a hostile obstacle course.
November 6, 2023: Uneven increases in racial diversity of US Geoscience undergraduates by R. Beane, et al. (The Nature Briefing, 2021)
Here’s an interesting article published by The Nature Briefing Newsletter on Uneven increases in racial diversity of US Geoscience undergraduates.
October 30, 2023: New SAT Data Highlights the Deep Inequality at the Heart of American Education by C. C. Miller (New York Times, 2023)
Check out this article published by The New York Times which discusses the inequality in American Education based on new SAT data.
October 23, 2023: Demographic Trends in Canadian Academic Geoscience by S. Jess, E. Heer, L. Schoenbohm (Geo Canada, 2023)
The report shows that Canadian academia, geosciences, has a low representation of gender, racial, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ for researchers.
October 16, 2023: Addressing racial and phenotypic bias in human neuroscience methods by E. Kate Webb, J. Arthur Etter & Jasmine A. Kwasa. (nature, 2022)
This paper shows how phenotype biases such as hair and skin bias appear in research through tools that do not account for darker skin or different hair textures. This results in data that does not accurately represent non-White individuals or individuals with wavy or afro textured hair.