This editorial is by Natasha Dowey. Contact her on Twitter @DrNatashaDowey or by email at geoforthefuture@gmail.com.
This week at Geoscience for the Future we are postponing our usual blog activities to focus on #BlackInGeoscienceWeek. Throughout the week we will be retweeting and posting Twitter and Zoom panel #BiG events to amplify the voices of Black geoscientists.
To learn more about how and why the event came about, we spoke to Dr. Munira Raji (@TheDroneLady; Geoscientist and Drone Pilot), Dr. Hendratta Ali (@HendrattaAli; Associate Professor in Geosciences), and Dr. Craig Poku (@C_Poku93, a Climate and Atmospheric Geoscientist), three of the organisers of Black in Geoscience week. They explained how the event has taken the lead from other events focussing on promoting diversity in science in recent months. “BlackInGeoscienceWeek is inspired and supported by the #BlackInSTEM, BlackIn_(Neuro, for e.g.), and @BlackIntheIvory initiatives that started earlier [this year]. The Black in Geoscience (@BlkInGeoscience) movement is comparatively recent, so first of all we acknowledge the people who have been working tirelessly for years to bring visibility to black scientists. We received encouragement and suggestions from other experienced BlackIn_ leaders who did this before us and we are learning from their experiences and continue to receive guidance from the collective.”
The three scientists founded the #BlackInGeoscienceWeek idea, but praise the volunteers who have been part of the organising committee for making the week a success; “Most of the credit should go to the volunteers, organisers and allies who have helped to support and amplify the event”.
It has been well documented that racial diversity in Geosciences is disproportionately low. In the USA, just 6% of doctorate degrees in Geoscience are awarded to students from underrepresented minorities, despite them making up 31% of the population (see Bernard and Cooperdock, 2018; Dutt, 2020). In the UK, on average over the past 5 years, just 1.4% of postgraduate Geology researchers* identified as Black, even though 3.8% of 18-24 years olds in the UK population identify as Black (Dowey et al., pre-print). Dr. Raji, Dr. Ali and Dr. Poku explain that this lack of representation was their motivation for the Black in Geoscience initiative; “Geoscience and related disciplines are among the least diverse STEM disciplines in some countries, for example in North America. In other parts of the world, the issue is not diversity but a problem of opportunity. Although there has been significant progress towards parity for women in geosciences (around 40% of US undergraduates students now identify as women), progress towards ethnic and racial diversity remains slow.”
Diversity in geoscience is a complex topic, impacted by structural racism, a lack of role models, a lack of visible faculty, and a host of other issues that affect inclusivity (see Bernard and Cooperdock, 2018, Dutt, 2020 and references within). What does the Black in Geoscience team hope this week will achieve? Dr Raji wants the event to create and highlight a vibrant community; “Proportionately, Black geoscientists are fewer in number, and the existing few lack visibility and opportunity. When they do find opportunity, they lack community. For this reason, we wanted to take advantage of this moment to bring the community together and celebrate our love for Geoscience, Earth and Planetary Science”.
Ways to get involved:
Follow the @BlkInGeoscience account and #BlackInGeoscienceWeek hashtags; listen to some amazing people, and learn how we can make our subject more inclusive and accessible to all.
Read the powerful pieces by Bernard and Cooperdock and Dutt in Nature on representation and racism in Geoscience.
Support organisations that support #BiG initiatives by buying awesome Black Geoscientists merch.
Read this petition and consider signing it: Call for a Robust Anti-Racism Plan for The Geosciences
Think about your own white privilege: check out this “What is white privilege?” video
*Note this is data for UK-domiciled students, does not include international students