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production, and impact factors, with little or no regard for his
torical intersectional layers of oppression that unequally impact
marginalized groups. For example, much of the work focused on
BAJEDI topics is executed by the very minoritized and margin
alized individuals most affected by systemic inequity (Kamceva
et al., 2022). There is little recognition for these efforts, despite
the overall benefit to the community through the creation of
more diverse teams, which are known to produce better science
(Freeman and Huang, 2014). The actions and initiatives that
bring people together, build community, and ultimately advance
science are overlooked and undervalued in promotion and ten
ure processes (Specht and Crowston, 2022). Broadening met
rics to include service to affinity groups and incentivizing men
toring options beyond traditional advisor/advisee relationships
would more accurately celebrate the various types of contribu
tions that are meaningful to the success of the scientific com
munity. There was general consensus among town hall attendees
that focusing on building community, increasing awareness, and
supporting cultural change with openness and curiosity would
allow for more inclusive, equitable policies. Reviewing the pres
ent system and broadening achievements beyond scientific work
would foster a more just, equitable, and resultantly inclusive
academic community.
CONCLUSIONS
Survey results and input from participants at the OSM24 town
hall present a picture of an ocean science community actively
attempting to address persistent inequity within its ranks. A great
deal of work is still needed to achieve equity and foster a sense of
belonging and inclusivity for historically minoritized and mar
ginalized groups. Survey responses from members of the ocean
sciences community point to increasing inclusivity but continued
challenges, including inequitable representation of minoritized
groups, lack of inclusive research opportunities, and antiquated
academic productivity metrics. The rise of more professional
societies, affinity groups, and other organizations that support
diverse people participating in ocean sciences was identified as
a major strength by town hall participants. Larger professional
societies can support smaller affinity groups by raising visibility,
encouraging inter-group professional networking, and highlight
ing their achievements in national publications. Table 2 provides
an overview of the major action item recommendations.
The current lack of publicly available demographic informa
tion continues to hamper the transparent assessment of BAJEDI
initiatives. Without these data, it is impossible to assess changes
in the demographic composition of the ocean sciences com
munity as a result of BAJEDI-focused programs. Instituting an
opt-in model to collect such data from professional societies
and conference attendees would be a useful step toward closing
this data gap. Collecting and analyzing demographic data would
allow better understanding of the efficacy of current BAJEDI
initiatives and implementation of data-driven improvements.
Greater collaboration with social scientists and higher edu
cation researchers is needed to accomplish this work in a just,
fair, and robust manner. In addition to thoughtful data collec
tion and analysis, organizations and professional societies need
to critically and carefully consider how to store and use demo
graphic data, as it may have personally identifiable information.
Furthermore, organizations and societies should collaborate to
ensure use of consistent categories and data collection methods
across surveys, as is common in large-scale data inter-calibration
efforts within the ocean sciences. As responsible stewardship of
data requires financial resources, we encourage professional and
scientific societies to seek funding for this purpose.
TABLE 2. Action items to promote equity.
RECOMMENDATION
INTENDED IMPACT
EVIDENCE-BASED
SUPPORT
Collect and maintain an open-access demographic
database collected from surveys with consistent and holistic
demographic categories.
To allow for long-term assessment of the efficacy
of BAJEDI initiatives.
Hughes et al. (2022)
Support and promote affinity groups and smaller
professional societies and their activities.
To promote smaller, grassroots initiatives.
Canfield et al. (2023)
Fenster and Verdier (2023)
Mouw et al. (2018)
Collaborate with research centers and academic institutions
to provide flexible, paid research opportunities.
To lower barriers to entry for research activities.
Kreuser et al. (2023)
Increase the value of BAJEDI actions, which are often
carried out by minoritized and marginalized scientists, in
hiring and promotion decisions.
To increase participation in BAJEDI activities
and equitable valuation of professional BAJEDI
activities.
Specht and Crowston (2022)
Increase communication and collaboration between groups
working on related BAJEDI initiatives.
To increase professional networking and support
opportunities by leveraging the combined power
of currently disparate BAJEDI programs.
Jones and Were (2008)
Singh et al. (2012)
Fund first-year graduate fellowships accessible specifically
to minoritized groups, as is currently common for first-year
fellowships for women.
To increase matriculation of historically under
represented minoritized groups in the ocean
sciences.
Piper and Krehbiel (2015)
Stolle-McAllister et al. (2011)