THE IGDEAS INITIATIVE: A DEPARTMENT-WIDE COLLABORATION TO PROMOTE GENDER EQUITY IN THE EARTH SCIENCES

In Fall 2018, a group of graduate and undergraduate students, post-docs, and faculty in the University of Oregon Department of Earth Sciences formed I_GDEAS (Inclusivity and gender Diversity in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences), a collaborative initiative to target geoscience gender inequities at the local university level. Since then, the I_GDEAS initiative has striven to create a departmental environment that empowers minoritized genders to pursue geoscience careers. I_GDEAS employs a three-pronged approach. First, we provide active-learning professional development programming. This serves to equip participants of all gender identities with the hard and soft skills needed for success in the geosciences. Examples include career panels, public speaking workshops, a power tools safety class, and an annual department-wide workshop on interrupting oppression. Secondly, we develop and disseminate literature that clarifies the institutional process of reporting harassment, assault, and discrimination against protected groups. Thirdly, I_GDEAS works to change departmental culture both by raising awareness of and working to dismantle institutional and personal barriers to the success of women and TGNC (transgender and gender-nonconforming) geoscientists. This final tenant is addressed through I_GDEAS-led reading groups about equity and inclusion, new field trip standards, and undergraduate scholarship and mentoring programs. Uniquely, I_GDEAS uses a volunteer-based, horizontal organizational structure without a defined membership or traditionally elected positions to focus on enacting solutions-based interventions rather than bureaucratic maintenance. Furthermore, I_GDEAS events and leadership positions are open to people of all gender identities as we firmly believe that community-wide problems require community-wide solutions through the establishment of an enduring culture of allyship. As a direct result of this initiative, two female undergraduates have become engaged in undergraduate research projects. Additionally, since I_GDEAS formed, the percentage of female graduate student enrollment has increased almost 60%. Future directions include expanding the I_GDEAS mission to encompass broader definitions of diversity, particularly with regards to ethnoracial identity.