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Symposium

Session: Unpacking the ecosystem of systemic racism experienced by Black Ecologists

SYMP 8-3 - Scrutinizing biases within the professional infrastructure of Ecology

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

4:10 PM – 4:30 PM EDT

Location: 520F

Presenting Author(s)

KB

Karen Bailey, PhD

Asst. Professor
University of Colorado Boulder, United States

Co-author(s)

NH

Nyeema C. Harris, PhD

Yale University
New Haven, CT, United States
AH

Alexandra Harmon-Threatt

University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
AM

Alex Moore

University of British Columbia, United States
SH

Samniqueka Halsey

Assistant Professor
University of Missouri, United States
ZH

Zakiya Holmes-Leggett

Forestry and Environmental Resources, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University
JC

Jasmine Childress

University of California Santa Barbara
KW

Kwasi Wrensford

University of California, Berkeley, United States
SG

Swanne Gordon, PhD

Washington University in St. Louis, United States
NK

Nana Kusi

Washington University in St Louis
MM

Maria N. Miriti, PhD

Professor of Ecology
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Background/Question/Methods
This talk represents an effort by Black ecologists to interrogate the structures within which we operate influence our experiences and success in the field. To unpack structural bias in ecology, we interrogate its infrastructure, which we define as the institutions, funding, communication, and assessment systems that broadly support ecological activities. Infrastructure sets disciplinary priorities, supports research, communicates novelty, governs stewardship, and determines standards for participation in ecological practice. We provide an overview of the ways in which institutional diversity and representation, culture and climate, and structures contribute to inequity in access to resources and success of ecologists. This includes investigation into funding inequities, lack of monitoring and evaluation of equity programs, university and departmental cultures with engrained racist legacies that create and perpetuate oppressive work environments, and inequitable conditions that may lead to disparities in and unbalanced metrics for success.

Results/Conclusions
We highlight the need for confrontation with racial, exclusionary biases within ecological institutions such as professional societies, universities and funding agencies. We specifically emphasize the need for organizations to move beyond diversity statements and similar outward acknowledgements to impactful and meaningful reform and a need to actively promote and support diverse scholarship in ecology. This may require recognizing when systems and structures can be more deleterious for Black ecologists than others given interacting types of inequity faced across the professional ecosystem. It may also include critical investigation of sources of disproportionate burdens and evaluation of strategies to overcome them (for instance, related to racial disparities in funding). Importantly scrutinizing and overcoming bias in infrastructure in ecology will require accountability in the form of policy change and evaluation and adaptation of implemented policies (for instance, in evaluation and “blinding” practices). We seek to highlight critical needs and potential strategies to overcome such institutional bias and build more inclusive ecosystems for Black ecologists.