TY - JOUR
T1 - Confluent identities in the geosciences
AU - Reano, Darryl
AU - Gedz, Christina
AU - Garcia, Ángel A.
AU - Johnson, E. A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Large scale efforts, aligned across the geoscience community, that are meant to produce equitable and fair places to work, learn, and live are more easily sustained when there is social engagement amongst members of the community where values and normalized practices are learned and adapted (Duchek et al., ). Geosciences Associated Societies Committed to Embracing and Normalizing Diversity Research Coordination Network (Geosciences-ASCEND) is a recent initiative, funded by NSF, that is intended to accelerate positive cultural change in the geosciences, to broaden participation of diverse identities in the geosciences, and to create a more inclusive discipline in which all people may participate and contribute (NSF Award #2037271). The Geosciences-ASCEND leadership team intends to create more inclusive academic environments at the Geological Society of America (GSA) annual meetings by reinforcing inclusive behaviors such as the proper use of gender pronouns, ensuring diverse representation on panels and for society awards, as well as symposia that share recent data and publications related to DEI initiatives of GSA associated societies. A similar initiative, AGU LANDInG (NSF Award #2036823), will support the professional development of DEI “champions” that will help to drive positive cultural shifts at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) national conferences. AGU LANDInG intends to create an open access, virtual platform of resources to support DEI across industry and academia and will also support the professional development of DEI champions by providing opportunities for direct experience leading DEI initiatives. Both AGU LANDInG and Geosciences-ASCEND have direct support from their respective organization leadership boards, GSA and AGU, which are two of the most prominent geoscience-focused conferences that take place annually. In recent years, “diversity sessions” at both conferences have grown to include multi- and transdisciplinary presentations that have focused on diverse identities and which incorporate social science methodologies to understand the complexities of geoscience education research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 National Association of Geoscience Teachers.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The geosciences are amongst the least diverse of the STEM disciplines. The lack of diversity could be related to the role that the intersection of identities (such as gender identity, sexual identity, race, and ethnicity) have related to an individual’s perception of self. To explore this idea, the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity was adapted to collect information (through an online questionnaire) from current geoscientists regarding their geoscience identity, gender identity, sexual identity, and race to understand how these factors may affect one’s identity as a geoscientist. A total of 157 responses were collected. Results suggest that 39% of the participants do feel that their gender identity positively influences their identity as a geoscientist and 20% of participants feel that their sexual identity positively influences their identity as a geoscientist. Free-response questionnaire items reveal themes related to inequity, inequality, privilege, community climate, sense of belonging, and geoscience identity. The results from this project align with previous research that suggests students that hold multiple marginalized identities may experience isolation and other unique barriers to persisting in geoscience and other STEM disciplines. Future research and projects focused on underrepresented gender and sexual identities will help geoscience educators formulate more inclusive learning/work environments in support of diversifying the geoscience community and STEM workforce.
AB - The geosciences are amongst the least diverse of the STEM disciplines. The lack of diversity could be related to the role that the intersection of identities (such as gender identity, sexual identity, race, and ethnicity) have related to an individual’s perception of self. To explore this idea, the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity was adapted to collect information (through an online questionnaire) from current geoscientists regarding their geoscience identity, gender identity, sexual identity, and race to understand how these factors may affect one’s identity as a geoscientist. A total of 157 responses were collected. Results suggest that 39% of the participants do feel that their gender identity positively influences their identity as a geoscientist and 20% of participants feel that their sexual identity positively influences their identity as a geoscientist. Free-response questionnaire items reveal themes related to inequity, inequality, privilege, community climate, sense of belonging, and geoscience identity. The results from this project align with previous research that suggests students that hold multiple marginalized identities may experience isolation and other unique barriers to persisting in geoscience and other STEM disciplines. Future research and projects focused on underrepresented gender and sexual identities will help geoscience educators formulate more inclusive learning/work environments in support of diversifying the geoscience community and STEM workforce.
KW - LGBTQ+
KW - STEM
KW - geoscience education
KW - identity
KW - undergraduate students
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U2 - 10.1080/10899995.2022.2158434
DO - 10.1080/10899995.2022.2158434
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85146917221
SN - 1089-9995
VL - 71
SP - 288
EP - 300
JO - Journal of Geoscience Education
JF - Journal of Geoscience Education
IS - 3
ER -