June 2025 | Oceanography
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providing equity models for individuals and institutions to
implement. While these initiatives can help make ocean careers
more accessible, and professional societies have done work to
make these spaces and policies more readily available, accessi
bility remains a challenge. Responses to the OSM22 survey sug
gested that gatekeeping was the most significant challenge to
diversifying the ocean sciences (Meyer-Gutbrod et al., 2023).
Gatekeeping refers to the intentional reduction of access to pro
fessionally beneficial activities, particularly by limiting mar
ginalized and minoritized groups. Early engagement, free from
gatekeeping, is critical to increasing access to ocean sciences.
Early engagement should be supported by equitable access to
meaningful professional development experiences through paid
internships (Kreuser et al., 2023) and more flexible introductory
research opportunities.
The survey and group discussions also touched on factors
outside an institution that impact the possibility of successful
BAJEDI programs. In particular, groups discussed how regional
and national political agendas may hamper efforts to improve
equity. Nearly one-third (27%) of the OSM24 survey respon
dents live in a region with anti-BAJEDI legislation, 43% live in
regions currently unaffected by such legislation, and 30% were
unsure of the local legislative atmosphere. Much of the discus
sion within this breakout group focused on strategies to make
ocean careers safe for minoritized individuals in light of these
political and legislative landscapes. Participants suggested hav
ing open conversations with visiting scholars before their arrival
and with applicants during the application process. These may
be facilitated by a brief survey to prospective professional visi
tors to an institution, which could ask guided questions on what
types of information the visitor would be interested in being
briefed on (example topics include results from previous insti
tution climate surveys on the experience of minoritized groups
at the institution, and LGBTQ+ topics, including the availabil
ity of health care). Upfront discussions would allow individuals
to pick environments where they can expect to live safely, even if
that may mean turning down opportunities. Institutions should
also actively advertise resources available to assist individuals,
including appropriate safety policies, reporting measures, and
health resources. This information should be readily available
to current and prospective employees and students. Required
training for principal investigators on the socio-political con
ditions in geographic regions new to their lab (e.g., visited for
conferences, fieldwork) will aid in preparing for unfamiliar leg
islative landscapes. Principal investigators are responsible for
educating all trainees on safety in these regions in order to pro
tect their direct reports and affiliates.
These issues are broader than ocean science and STEM
careers, with significant backlash against DEI progress, increas
ing legislative attacks aimed at transgender and gender-
expansive communities, and the elimination of federal DEI
resources by the US government in January 2025, subsequent to
the writing of this article. Ensuring safe working environments
for all individuals, particularly in our current socio-political
climate, was of top concern among our town hall participants.
In addition to addressing barriers to access, the ocean sciences
community must take a leading role in fostering safe and equi
table access to places and spaces unique to the field, including
shipboard, coastal, and remote environments (for an example,
see McMonigal et al., 2023). Discrimination is still happening
at the institutional level and should be openly acknowledged.
Institutions can and should put resources in place to protect
their workers and students. Furthermore, institutions and col
leagues can advocate for safe and inclusive legislation as it per
tains to their working environments.
Just and Fair Culture
As we strive for an increasingly inclusive ocean sciences commu
nity, the importance of retention cannot be overstated. Standing
in the way of retention is a disconnect between the lived expe
rience of minoritized individuals and recognition of this lived
experience by individuals who are not marginalized or minori
tized. Participants in this town hall reflect this divide. As shown
in the OSM24 survey results and previous studies, groups who do
not experience systemic prejudicial bias, in this case, heterosex
ual white men, appear to be less aware of the lived experiences of
gender and racial minorities (Figure 2b,c; Davis and Robinson,
1991; Major et al., 2002; Drury and Kaiser, 2014; Liao et al.,
2016). The survey data demonstrate that minoritized individu
als and white heterosexual women experience greater marginal
ization through bias, discrimination, and bullying (Figure 2c).
Increasing awareness of the lived experiences of those on the
receiving end of such behavior may strengthen understanding
in the community, particularly for those who do not personally
experience significant marginalization themselves, and increase
a sense of belonging for marginalized scientists.
To begin addressing this issue, town hall participants sug
gested policies at the institutional/organizational, government
agency, and professional society levels. Participants discussed
how recent shifts in academic culture have resulted in apprecia
ble advances in structural equity at the agency and institutional
levels. Institutional policymakers have the power to propel cul
ture change by examining existing policies and evaluating those
policies from a BAJEDI perspective. Discussion group members
reflected on the need to uplift the voices of minoritized groups
during policy evaluation and reform. Scientists directly impacted
by such policies should feel ownership in improving them. To
this end, it is essential to center the voices of marginalized groups
in reforming inequitable policies, recognize equity work in per
formance reviews, and ensure measures for accountability.
Promoting BAJEDI in ocean sciences will require a change
in resource allocation, hiring, promotion, tenure evaluation,
and recognition systems. Outdated academic productivity met
rics center almost exclusively on funding acquisition, paper