Mission / vision collective statement
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are the foundations of a strong and thriving scientific community. The vision of the European Association of Geochemistry’s DEI Committee is to unite the membership in collective efforts to challenge the status quo, transform community culture, and address system-wide and structural barriers to participation in geochemistry and cosmochemistry.
To realise this vision, our mission is to promote DEI initiatives that cultivate welcoming, kind, inspiring, and actively anti-discriminatory scientific cultures as well as safe, healthy, and supportive working environments. As such, the EAG DEI initiative shall serve as a model for STEM in optimising participation of historically excluded and underrepresented peoples across all sectors, levels of employ, and positions of community leadership.
The Committee is composed of two Co-Chairs, one of which is a serving member of EAG Council, and further representatives from among EAG members. The group works in collaboration with EAG sister association, the Geochemical Society, to enhance the impact of our work.
This team of allies is happy to hear from interested people and groups, and to provide friendly advice.
Follow the DEI team on Twitter at @EAG_DEI
Scope and Accomplishments
What does the DEI committee do?
Working collaboratively, the EAG and GS DEI committees discuss, formulate, and enact change via a range of joint groups, including the following:
• Awards Task Force
• Writing Team
• Goldschmidt Task Force
• DEI Town Halls Team
Recommendations generated by these groups are reviewed by the DEI committees, the EAG Council, and/or the GS Board.
Additionally, both committees support dedicated social media teams (e.g., @EAG_DEI, and GS social media content), and EAG members source and handle contributions to the EAG Blog.
The EAG DEI Committee also has representatives on several other EAG Committees, including the Council Nominations Committee, Awards Nominations Committee, Ethics Committee, and EAG Strategy Working Group. This representation enables us to raise the profile of DEI concerns across the spectrum of EAG activities.
What has the DEI committee accomplished so far?
In 2022, the EAG DEI Committee, in collaboration with the Geochemical Society, designed and delivered the Global Geochemistry Community Survey. The survey was designed to build understanding where knowledge is presently entirely lacking concerning anonymized demographics, community condition, and workplace and laboratory experiences among our members. These data are now being analysed in collaboration social science experts, with results expected later in 2023. Stay tuned!
Other accomplishments of the energetic DEI Committees to date include the following:
- A report on our projects that appraised the international context of DEI challenges among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational routes and work forces (Writing for Change; Uniting to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in a pandemic and post-pandemic world);
- An invited article concerning inequities in geochemistry’s current nomination and award procedures;
- Proposal of a series of reforms to the nomination and award systems of the EAG and GS, incorporating a broadened definition of “contribution”, thereby furthering an inclusive approach;
- Expansion of the EAG Geochemistry Fellows Award Nominations Committee to address nominations to all EAG awards;
- New EAG blogs along with working definitions for diversity, equity, inclusion, and marginalisation related to the developing DEI Strategic Plan;
- An invited contribution identifying a lack of diversity among editorial boards;
- An article on the diversity of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta and Chemical Geology Editorial Boards through time;
- Virtual keynote talks to explore the work of the DEI committees: such invites are rotated among the team, and opportunities for friendly discussion are welcome;
- A community call-out from the EAG President explaining the geochemistry award nomination procedures, opportunities for sponsoring new initiatives, and updates to society websites regarding agreed reforms to awards.
At Goldschmidt2021 Virtual and Goldschmidt2022, the EAG and GS DEI Committees spear-headed a range of initiatives, including…
- Contributing to the conference’s early career program and the delivery of talks/sessions on open access publishing and broader matters of DEI in geochemistry (more info);
- Providing guidance advocating for an inclusive and accessible conference;
- Development and provision of an anonymous online reporting tool;
- Hosting social events in Goldschmidt’s Spatial Chat in 2021 and in person in 2022, including a Pride event;
- Engaging in media coverage with the press officer concerning an example of the current exclusion of racial minorities.
Current and Upcoming Events
The DEI Committee is searching for new members for 2023! More information and apply.
The joint EAG-GS DEI Goldschmidt Task Force is organizing a range of DEI related events at the Goldschmidt2023 conference, including workshops, a DEI session, and more. If you would like to get involved with any of these activities, please do get in touch.
Check out the Goldschmidt2023 webpages for updates and more information.
Amazing people series
Throughout history many amazing people from all walks of life have contributed to and accelerated our scientific understanding. Some of these amazing scientists have been largely forgotten or you might not have heard about them. Meet these Amazing Scientists and maybe some among them can be your new role models!
