Pathways to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Marine Science and Conservation
Marine conservation sciences have traditionally been, and remain, non-diverse work environments with many barriers to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). These barriers disproportionately affect entry of early career scientists and practitioners and limit the success of marine conserva...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.696180/full |
| _version_ | 1818971801659637760 |
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| author | Shaili Johri Maria Carnevale Lindsay Porter Anna Zivian Melina Kourantidou Melina Kourantidou Erin L. Meyer Jessica Seevers Rachel A. Skubel |
| author_facet | Shaili Johri Maria Carnevale Lindsay Porter Anna Zivian Melina Kourantidou Melina Kourantidou Erin L. Meyer Jessica Seevers Rachel A. Skubel |
| author_sort | Shaili Johri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Marine conservation sciences have traditionally been, and remain, non-diverse work environments with many barriers to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). These barriers disproportionately affect entry of early career scientists and practitioners and limit the success of marine conservation professionals from under-represented, marginalized, and overburdened groups. These groups specifically include women, LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). However, the issues also arise from the global North/South and East/West divide with under-representation of scientists from the South and East in the global marine conservation and science arena. Persisting inequities in conservation, along with a lack of inclusiveness and diversity, also limit opportunities for innovation, cross-cultural knowledge exchange, and effective implementation of conservation and management policies. As part of its mandate to increase diversity and promote inclusion of underrepresented groups, the Diversity and Inclusion committee of the Society for Conservation Biology-Marine Section (SCB Marine) organized a JEDI focus group at the Sixth International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC6) which was held virtually. The focus group included a portion of the global cohort of IMCC6 attendees who identified issues affecting JEDI in marine conservation and explored pathways to address those issues. Therefore, the barriers and pathways identified here focus on issues pertinent to participants’ global regions and experiences. Several barriers to just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive conservation science and practice were identified. Examples included limited participation of under-represented minorities (URM) in research networks, editorial biases against URM, limited professional development and engagement opportunities for URM and non-English speakers, barriers to inclusion of women, LGBTQ+, and sensory impaired individuals, and financial barriers to inclusion of URM in all aspects of marine conservation and research. In the current policy brief, we explore these barriers, assess how they limit progress in marine conservation research and practice, and seek to identify initiatives for improvements. We expect the initiatives discussed here to advances practices rooted in principles of JEDI, within SCB Marine and, the broader conservation community. The recommendations and perspectives herein broadly apply to conservation science and practice, and are critical to effective and sustainable conservation and management outcomes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T14:58:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9dbfc6460fea4d8c801c0413f66488d3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T14:58:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-9dbfc6460fea4d8c801c0413f66488d32022-12-21T19:36:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452021-12-01810.3389/fmars.2021.696180696180Pathways to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Marine Science and ConservationShaili Johri0Maria Carnevale1Lindsay Porter2Anna Zivian3Melina Kourantidou4Melina Kourantidou5Erin L. Meyer6Jessica Seevers7Rachel A. Skubel8Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, United StatesPiko Strategies, LLC, Kailua, HI, United StatesSoutheast Asia Marine Mammal Research, Admiralty, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaOcean Conservancy, Santa Cruz, CA, United StatesMarine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesDepartment of Sociology, Environmental and Business Economics, University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, DenmarkSeattle Aquarium, Seattle, WA, United StatesBiodiversity, Wildlife, and Ecosystem Health MSc, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United KingdomAbess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United StatesMarine conservation sciences have traditionally been, and remain, non-diverse work environments with many barriers to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). These barriers disproportionately affect entry of early career scientists and practitioners and limit the success of marine conservation professionals from under-represented, marginalized, and overburdened groups. These groups specifically include women, LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). However, the issues also arise from the global North/South and East/West divide with under-representation of scientists from the South and East in the global marine conservation and science arena. Persisting inequities in conservation, along with a lack of inclusiveness and diversity, also limit opportunities for innovation, cross-cultural knowledge exchange, and effective implementation of conservation and management policies. As part of its mandate to increase diversity and promote inclusion of underrepresented groups, the Diversity and Inclusion committee of the Society for Conservation Biology-Marine Section (SCB Marine) organized a JEDI focus group at the Sixth International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC6) which was held virtually. The focus group included a portion of the global cohort of IMCC6 attendees who identified issues affecting JEDI in marine conservation and explored pathways to address those issues. Therefore, the barriers and pathways identified here focus on issues pertinent to participants’ global regions and experiences. Several barriers to just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive conservation science and practice were identified. Examples included limited participation of under-represented minorities (URM) in research networks, editorial biases against URM, limited professional development and engagement opportunities for URM and non-English speakers, barriers to inclusion of women, LGBTQ+, and sensory impaired individuals, and financial barriers to inclusion of URM in all aspects of marine conservation and research. In the current policy brief, we explore these barriers, assess how they limit progress in marine conservation research and practice, and seek to identify initiatives for improvements. We expect the initiatives discussed here to advances practices rooted in principles of JEDI, within SCB Marine and, the broader conservation community. The recommendations and perspectives herein broadly apply to conservation science and practice, and are critical to effective and sustainable conservation and management outcomes.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.696180/fullequitydiversityinclusionconferencespeer-reviewbias |
| spellingShingle | Shaili Johri Maria Carnevale Lindsay Porter Anna Zivian Melina Kourantidou Melina Kourantidou Erin L. Meyer Jessica Seevers Rachel A. Skubel Pathways to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Marine Science and Conservation Frontiers in Marine Science equity diversity inclusion conferences peer-review bias |
| title | Pathways to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Marine Science and Conservation |
| title_full | Pathways to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Marine Science and Conservation |
| title_fullStr | Pathways to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Marine Science and Conservation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pathways to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Marine Science and Conservation |
| title_short | Pathways to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Marine Science and Conservation |
| title_sort | pathways to justice equity diversity and inclusion in marine science and conservation |
| topic | equity diversity inclusion conferences peer-review bias |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.696180/full |
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