Really interesting seminar with lots of great tips on how to make our academic environment more incluse by @HainerLab, @FOlafsdottir
and Renuka Kudva @eLifeCommunity #ECRWednesday pic.twitter.com/vW0yD1lYKANele Haelterman (@HaeltermanNele)
We opened 2021 with a webinar dedicated to exploring diversity and inclusion within academic research. Participants joined to learn about ways we can approach our own biases and those in our environment, so that we can all contribute to a nurturing and productive scientific ecosystem.
In this #ECRWednesday webinar, the speakers reviewed selected literature on the subject, and discussed manifestations of bias and discrimination in academia. They shared resources and inclusive practice examples, with a view to support researchers to improve practices in recruitment, peer review, and mentoring.
Since individual identities often combine many characteristics (race, gender, ability, geographical location, language etc), they can attract a cumulative effect of discrimination or bias. The speakers advocate for an intersectional approach to inclusivity in academia, in an endeavour to apply Prof. Kimberlé Crenshaw’s influential 1989 framework (1989 paper) towards building equitable and inclusive academic environments.
Further resources:
- Slides: https://figshare.com/s/4d53c4a171d4d2708251
- Implicit Bias: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html
- Privilege walk example: http://doloreshuerta.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/privilege-walk.pdf
- Writing a diversity statement example: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/developing-and-writing-a-diversity-statement/
- Dignity Pledge: http://dignityandrespect.org/take-the-pledge/
- Guidelines for inclusion: https://osf.io/muk7v/
- Lab expectations manual: https://osf.io/2xn6z/
Panellists:
Sarah Hainer – Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, USA. Sarah’s lab focuses on how chromatin and transcription dynamics regulate cell fate.
Freyja Olafsdottir – Assistant Professor at the Donders Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Cognition (Radboud University, the Netherlands). Her lab focuses on studying the circuit mechanisms supporting episodic and spatial memory.
Renuka Kudva – Project Coordinator at the National Genomics Infrastructure in Stockholm, Sweden.
Chair:
Yaw Bediako – member of the ECAG and Research Fellow at West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), University of Ghana, Ghana. His lab explores how host-pathogen interactions uniquely shape the immune systems of individuals living in Africa, with important implications for both infectious and non-communicable diseases.
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#ECRWednesdays and the eLife Community Ambassadors programmes aim to give a platform to early-career researchers to discuss issues pertinent to their careers and experience as researchers. While the content doesn’t undergo editorial scrutiny, eLife staff and the Early-Career Advisory Group provide guidance and support to the organisers.
