It is a fact that the geosciences have some of the lowest levels of diversity of any of the STEM subjects (Dutt, 2020). OUGS acknowledges that there is a lot of work that needs to be done to address this issue, in particular within the Earth Sciences Department and within the University of Oxford more generally.
Whilst this was written in 2020. The current committee stands by this and have chosen to leave it online.
The Earth Sciences Department have since released a number of statements detailing the actions they will take to address many of the issues raised in this report. You can read through all of these, as well as the OUGS anti-racism statement here:
The Earth Sciences Department have since released a number of statements detailing the actions they will take to address many of the issues raised in this report. You can read through all of these, as well as the OUGS anti-racism statement here:
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A reading group has been formed in which undergraduate and postgraduate Earth Sciences students are able to come together to discuss and learn about the intersection of race and Earth sciences, and consider how we can take action in our department, as well as the wider community, to be actively anti-racist. The Race in Earth Sciences (RiES) Reading Group meets fortnightly on Mondays at 5pm, and typically discuss 1-2 articles each week. If you are interested in coming along to a meeting please do get in touch with the organiser who will add you to the mailing list which alerts you when meetings are coming up. In addition are a number of online resources linked to Oxford and the Earth Sciences Department which specifically focus on promoting equality within the geosciences. These include, but are not limited to: A number of online training courses which can be found through the University of Oxford’s Equality and Diversity Unit (EDU) pages, notably the Training and Mentoring page, the Harassment Training page and their Anti-Racism Resources pdf. The courses and resources cover a range of topics such as tackling race bias and how to be a good LGBT+ ally. Whilst these courses should be free and accessible to all students using their Single Sign On details, it is definitely worth noting that these particular online training courses were primarily designed for use by faculty. @BlkinGeoscience on Twitter: “The #BlackInGeoscience initiative was born following the success of the EGU Geodynamics blog post from June 2020, showcasing Black scientists and highlighting the need to work together to increase diversity, equality and inclusion in the Earth Sciences, which was written by Lucía Pérez-Días.” There is also an online merchandise shop (https://teespring.com/stores/blackingeoscience) where you can buy a large range of products with the #BlackInGeoscience Logo on them, with all profits going to the Premier Legal Organisation Fighting for Racial Justice. earth2earth Seminar Series: “earth2earth aims to engage the UK Geosciences community with inspiring science from internationally leading researchers. It will do this while promoting inclusivity and diversity, supporting the advancement of early-career researchers, and highlighting geoscientists’ contributions to addressing global environmental challenges.” These free one hour virtual seminars are open to all and are hosted live every fortnight via Zoom and YouTube livestream. The recordings of all past seminars can also be watched back at any time through the earth2earth YouTube page. |
The University of Oxford’s Equality and Diversity Unit (EDU) as well as the Equality and Diversity page for Oxford’s Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division both contain a huge amount of resources and advice which are worth having a good look. In particular the EDU’s Race page has a number of useful reference documents including a list of educational anti-racism resources (see the ‘Anti-Racism Higher Education’ pdf), welfare resources available specifically to BME staff and students (see the ‘Welfare and Wellbeing Support For BME Staff and Students at Oxford’ pdf) and a summary of the actions being taken by the University to improve race equality at Oxford (see the ‘Race Equality Action at the University of Oxford’ pdf). There are also a number of university-wide societies, groups & initiatives that provide a lot of useful information for you to access throughout your time at Oxford. Many of these groups you can actively get involved with as a student and/or they host events throughout year, so it’s definitely worth checking them out: |
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