Hi all,
I'm wondering if there's enough mutual interest here to form a group or a committee tasked with developing a climate survey regarding the experiences of STEM scholars who identify as part of under-represented or marginalized communities. In recent years, I've climate surveys released from various universities around the US regarding the experiences of womxn, BIPOC, LGBTQ folk, and students with disabilities, as well as first-gen and low-income students. These surveys can serve as an entry point for better understanding the experiences of marginalized scholars and convert conversations and anecdotal experiences into a more concrete and widely accessible report. We could use this survey to lay the groundwork for a report with recommendations for clearly defined actions that IS-MPMI, other professional societies, universities, etc (who we identify as the target group) can take to make steps towards a more inclusive and equitable STEM community.
Here are a few such climate surveys:
Climate Survey | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | University of Michigan (umich.edu)
Climate Survey | UChicago Diversity Initiative | The University of Chicago I'm not sure if I've seen similar climate surveys administered or released by professional societies but AAAS recently released a report on the demographics of its members and grant and fellowship awardees and is currently drafting a two part report to combat systemic racism in the sciences.
SEA+Change+initial+report+-+FINAL.pdf (squarespace.com)
The AAAS report is being driven by an analysis of AAAS membership demographic but to my understanding, the members themselves were not contacted for an opportunity to share their experiences. While I'm excited to really sit down and read this report, I'm disappointed the AAAS report will not serve as an opportunity to allow to our members a chance to speak for themselves and share their actual lived experiences.
IS-MPMI is a massive international community committed to diverse, equitable, and inclusive research. The 2019 Symposium had over 3000 attendees (from at least a dozen countries based on my conversations). I think we have a fairly unique opportunity to learn about and give voice to the experiences of some of the most marginalized members of our international community and provide a report with discrete recommendations for making an even more inclusive plant bio community.
I'm excited to hear if y'all are interested!
Best,
DJ