Pathways to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Marine Science and Conservation

Abstract

Marine conservation sciences have traditionally been, and remain, non-diverse work environments with many barriers to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). These barriers disproportionately affect entry of early career scientists and practitioners and limit the success of marine conservation professionals from under-represented, marginalized, and overburdened groups. These groups specifically include women, LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). However, the issues also arise from the global North/South and East/West divide with under-representation of scientists from the South and East in the global marine conservation and science arena. Persisting inequities in conservation, along with a lack of inclusiveness and diversity, also limit opportunities for innovation, cross-cultural knowledge exchange, and effective implementation of conservation and management policies. As part of its mandate to increase diversity and promote inclusion of underrepresented groups, the Diversity and Inclusion committee of the Society for Conservation Biology-Marine Section (SCB Marine) organized a JEDI focus group at the Sixth International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC6) which was held virtually. The focus group included a portion of the global cohort of IMCC6 attendees who identified issues affecting JEDI in marine conservation and explored pathways to address those issues. Therefore, the barriers and pathways identified here focus on issues pertinent to participants’ global regions and experiences. Several barriers to just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive conservation science and practice were identified. Examples included limited participation of under-represented minorities (URM) in research networks, editorial biases against URM, limited professional development and engagement opportunities for URM and non-English speakers, barriers to inclusion of women, LGBTQ+, and sensory impaired individuals, and financial barriers to inclusion of URM in all aspects of marine conservation and research. In the current policy brief, we explore these barriers, assess how they limit progress in marine conservation research and practice, and seek to identify initiatives for improvements. We expect the initiatives discussed here to advances practices rooted in principles of JEDI, within SCB Marine and, the broader conservation community. The recommendations and perspectives herein broadly apply to conservation science and practice, and are critical to effective and sustainable conservation and management outcomes.

Catalyzing Remote Collaboration During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: Early Career Oceanographers Adopt Hybrid Open Science Framework

“…Rather, the hybrid CoP is open to contributions from scientists drawn from the entire spectrum of research and teaching institutions in academia. In this context, inclusivity relates to how our hybrid CoP allows people from all areas of academia to conduct research and network, not just those who have funding, or are located within a particular research group or at an institute that has a highly-decorated ocean observing program ("increasing access" in Johri et al, 2021).…”

“…These contributions include the technical and interpersonal skills each scientist has and each individual's cultural and research background (i.e., marine science, computer science, political science, etc.). While our hybrid CoP is still in its early stages, we expect that such a mechanism will aid in promoting the research interests and perspectives of those who have been previously underrepresented (Foramitti et al, 2021;Johri et al, 2021;Niner and Wassermann, 2021;Skiles et al, 2021) in the oceanographic community. Additionally, the professional development aspect of the hybrid CoP may assist in reducing barriers in career growth for individuals that wouldn't usually have access to such opportunities (Johri et al, 2021;Nocco et al, 2021).…”

“…During the remote-component of the hybrid CoP, creating "value" to participate is more difficult, especially when one is already inundated with virtual meetings. Moreover, participation without some sort of "product" (Figure 1) can become a barrier to further professional development in early career scientists (Johri et al, 2021). Hence, some type of funding assistance is necessary to promote and publish the work of the hybrid CoP members.…”

Auditing the ‘Social’ of Quantum Technologies: A Scoping Review

“…Phrases linked to EDI are increasingly employed as policy concepts in many universities [51] and other workplaces, and include "equity/equality, diversity, inclusion"; "diversity, equity and inclusion" [51]; "belonging, dignity, and justice" [40,41]; "diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging" [42,47,57]; "employment equity" [43]; "inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility" [44][45][46]; "justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion" [48,49,58,59] and "equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization" [50]. Athena SWAN (Scientific Women's Academic Network) was the first EDI framework for Universities, beginning in 2005 [52].…”

“…As such, one objective of this study was to map out the co-occurrence of various terms and phrases linked to the 'social' with various quantum technology-related terms. Equity, diversity and inclusion; equality, diversity and inclusion; diversity, equity and inclusion and other derivative EDI phrases [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59] and EDI frameworks such as Athena SWAN ("Scientific Women's Academic Network") [52,60]; "Science in Australia Gender Equity", SAGE-Athena SWAN [53]; "See change with STEMM Equity Achievement", SEA-Change [54]; National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE [55] and "DIMENSIONS: Equity, diversity and inclusion program" [56] are increasingly employed to improve the research, education and general workplace climate at universities [51] and other workplaces for marginalized groups such as women, Indigenous peoples, visible/racialized minorities, disabled people, and LGBTQ2S+. How EDI is engaged with in discussions concerning how to advance quantum-related science and technology will impact how the 'social' is discussed in relation to quantum technologies.…”