FIELDWORK INSPIRING EXPANDED LEADERSHIP AND DIVERSITY (FIELD): MAKING FIELD GEOLOGY MORE DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE

Fieldwork Inspiring Expanded Leadership and Diversity (FIELD) is an NSF-funded program intended to identify and address the many barriers of inclusion in geoscience field settings. Underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines (e.g. the disabled, women, people of color, LGBTQ) often face barriers like economic exclusion, anxiety about the outdoors, sexual harassment, and attitudes of ableism. These barriers originate from both a fear of the unknown and from an ingrained “field culture” celebrating physical ability, mental toughness, and aggressive behavior. The FIELD Institute aims to equip field leaders with the skills necessary to facilitate a more inclusive and welcoming field experience.

A professional development model was tested at a three-day workshop in October 2018. The impacts of the workshop were acquired through participant interviews and assessment, revealing much about these issues within the geoscience field. Prior to the workshop, participants were able to identify, on average, three potential inclusion barriers, and two strategies to address exclusion in the field; 17% of participants could list no strategies at all.

Post-workshop, participants identified an average of five barriers; these results were statistically significant with a paired t-test p value of 0.00095, after the workshop, participants were able to list an average of four potential strategies; changes in responses were, again, statistically significant (p= 5.7808 x 10^-5). The most common strategies listed post-workshop were accommodation of diverse physical abilities, development of clear codes of conduct, incorporating cultural content about field sites, and bystander intervention training.

Participants overwhelmingly stated that practical tools to employ in the field were the most valuable tools such as bystander intervention training, the use of directed action plans including driver diagrams to develop solutions, and specialized presentations on empowering the disabled in field settings and Indigenous peoples’ perspectives. Participants also appreciated the remote location of the workshop at the Colorado State University Mountain Campus, which created a microcosm of a field excursion and allowed intent focus on the issues explored.