Broadening Participation in TOS Through Honors Nominations and Awards

Abstract

The Oceanography Society (TOS) Honors Program provides opportunities for its members to amplify the Society’s values (https://tos.org/about) and to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of colleagues. However, individual and systemic biases can affect the nomination and selection process. In fall 2021, the TOS Council postponed a cycle of the Honors Program due to lack of diversity in nominees (https://tos.org/tos-news-june-2022). The TOS JEDI Committee (https://tos.org/diversity) is considering ways to generate a large and diverse pool of nominees by embedding TOS’s justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion goals into the honors and awards process. This article highlights some of those suggestions and invites TOS members to weigh in.

Community Perspectives on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Ocean Sciences: A Town Hall Discussion

“…Gatekeepers in science, including mentors, advisors, researchers, editors, peer reviewers, board/committee members, and meeting conveners (e.g., Mekonnen et al, 2022;Muller-Karger et al, 2022;Osborne et al, 2022;Osiecka et al, 2022;Wapman et al, 2022), all act to legitimize research findings, determine professional rewards, establish criteria and professional standards, allocate resources, and influence policies for science. Gatekeeping is exercised both in the process and the content of decision-making and can substantially influence the culture of science, including driving people into or out of the field.…”