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Today our paper on the shocking lack of racial diversity in UK Geosciences is out @NatureGeosci: 
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00737-w
@VolcanoJenni @BenFernando2 @GilesPalaeoLab Jacqui Houghton @seis_matters @jurassicg1rl Anya Lawrence @KeelyMills @G_ruber @SLRogersGeol @Volcanologist
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00737-w
@VolcanoJenni @BenFernando2 @GilesPalaeoLab Jacqui Houghton @seis_matters @jurassicg1rl Anya Lawrence @KeelyMills @G_ruber @SLRogersGeol @Volcanologist
The analysis shows that Geology, Physical Geography & Environmental Science are the three WORST Physical Science subjects for representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic students in full-time undergraduate study in UK HE, with poor progression into postgraduate research.
In the 2018/19 academic year just 5.2% of Physical Geography postgraduates identified as Black, Asian, or minority ethnic, despite these groups comprising 18.5% of the UK 18-24 year old population.
From 2014-2019 on average just 1.4% Geology UK geoscience postgraduate researchers identified as Black, compared to 3.8% of 18-24 year olds in the UK population.
These sobering data, and more presented in the article, show that Geoscience subjects, which are crucial to developing and delivering a sustainable future, have not adequately dealt with the legacy of the past when it comes to diversity and inclusion.
It’s about time these data are scrutinised- we see the lack of diversity every day in our university corridors. Our subjects are built on a legacy of imperialism and are impacted by structural barriers that discriminate against minority groups.
It’s up to the entire geoscience community to make anti-racist changes and be positive allies to Black, Asian and minority ethnic students and colleagues.
In the piece we lay out steps to address this diversity crisis and make the discipline more equitable. We hope that the work will galvanise the UK community into action and encourage other science disciplines to take similar steps.
Please see full press release here. Note that the article is free to download for a month:
This work has been influenced by the publications of many others working in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion - check out our full references list in the supplementary materials of the article.
Key related reading is the work of Kuheli Dutt... https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-019-0519-z
...the work of Rachel Bernard and Emily Cooperdock... https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-018-0116-6
...and the Broken Pipeline report of @LeadingRoutes. https://leadingroutes.org/mdocs-posts/the-broken-pipeline-barriers-to-black-students-accessing-research-council-funding
This year we have done a lot of listening. The article is short but involved a huge amount of collaboration, and I am grateful to each of the authors for their input and support - particularly to Anya and Ben, students whose experiences and contributions were invaluable...
Both Anya and Ben work tirelessly on JEDI issues alongside their own studies- check out Ben's recent piece for Eos on student-led diversity audits here: https://eos.org/opinions/student-led-diversity-audits-a-strategy-for-change?fbclid=IwAR2jg3InUQ3NkTk_eI9HkTNxaqsxrykPlbILrzDu29mCH74bYehSIGtn_rA
...And Anya's pre-print on how to make fieldwork more inclusive here: https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/2299/
We’re not done with this. We're putting together funding proposals to tackle this issue in Geosciences and make transferable impacts across other STEM fields. We are consulting with more students, with groups like @BlkinGeoscience @blackgeogorg, with alumni like @scarlett_jazmin.
Everyone reading this can do their bit- read our article, read Dutt, read Leading Routes & Listen. Make anti-racist change in your own practice. Convince colleagues to make changes to theirs. Convince your management. Your CDTs. Things will only change if we make them.
Let's make our disciplines equitable.
Let's make the Geosciences as diverse as the planet we study.
Let's make the Geosciences as diverse as the planet we study.
