The Challenges of Fieldwork for LGBTQ+ Geoscientists

Marshall, Alison Olcott; Downen, Matthew R.

doi:10.1029/2020eo148200

Cited by 42 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Field teaching is highly valued in GEES disciplines (Mogk and Goodwin, 2012;Petcovic et al, 2014) and has demonstrable positive outcomes for learning (e.g., Elkins and Elkins, 2018), but also presents a number of barriers to safe participation and engagement, particularly for individuals whose identities have been historically excluded from the discipline (Giles et al, 2020;Pickrell, 2020). Ensuring the physical safety of every participant requires special consideration of a number of identities, backgrounds, and protected characteristics (Demery and Pipkin, 2020), including gender identity/expression and sexuality (Clancy et al, 2014;Black, 2019;Olcott and Downen, 2020;Jackson, 2021), race and ethnicity (Hughes, 2016;Anadu et al, 2020;Chaudhary and Berhe, 2020;Viglione, 2020;Ali et al, 2021), disability, neurodiversity, and mental ill health (Gilley et al, 2015;John and Khan, 2018;Tucker and Horton, 2018;Batty, 2020) and the intersection of these characteristics (Scarlett, 2021). The safety of each and every participant is the responsibility of fieldwork staff and particularly the field leader, who have "unparalleled power to mitigate harm in environments they oversee" (Cooperdock et al, 2021, p.1).…”

Section: Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Safety and Belonging in the Field: A Checklist for Educators

Greene¹,

Antell²,

Atterby³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ensuring taught fieldwork is a positive, generative, collective, and valuable experience for all participants requires considerations beyond course content. To guarantee safety and belonging, participants’ identities (backgrounds and protected characteristics) must be considered as a part of fieldwork planning and implementation. Furthermore, getting fieldwork right is an important step in disrupting the ongoing cycle of exclusion of participants from marginalised demographics. This document aims to provide those involved in field teaching in Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences (GEES) disciplines with a brief overview about how identity affects experiences of taught fieldwork, as well as some general tips and a practical checklist for creating a safe learning environment for all staff, demonstrators, and students in the field.

show abstract

Section: Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Safety and Belonging in the Field: A Checklist for Educators

Greene¹,

Antell²,

Atterby³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the United States, Black people face threats of violence and even death in the outdoors and other predominantly white spaces (Anadu et al., 2020; Lanham, 2016). LGBTQ+ scientists must also contend with violence and even criminalization in many countries (Olcott & Downen, 2020). Although we cannot control societal biases, it is our responsibility to ensure the safety of every member of our group.…”

Section: The Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…LGBTQ+ scientists must also contend with violence and even criminalization in many countries (Olcott & Downen, 2020). Although we cannot control societal biases, it is our responsibility to ensure the safety of every member of our group.…”

Section: The Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Counteracting Systemic Bias in the Lab, Field, and Classroom

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Events in 2020, including the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, ignited a global conversation across all sectors of society about racism, white supremacy, and other systems of oppression experienced by marginalized groups. The geoscience community has responded with statements, reading groups, and committees addressing the overall lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion within our field. The sad truth is that our community has discussed its lack of diversity, particularly related to race and gender, for decades with few measurable improvements (Bernard & Cooperdock, 2018; Bromery, 1972). This lack of diversity, which spans race, gender, disability, sexuality and other social categories, contributes directly to the lack of inclusion and equity experienced by people from marginalized groups (Dutt, 2020). Recent efforts have focused on systemic bias-the ways in which institutional culture, norms, and procedures exclude people based on their social identity and/or background, in both intentional and unintentional ways. Several calls have been made to address this at the institutional and federal agency level (e.g., notimeforsilence.org), and many professional societies responded by updating codes of conduct and retooling other functions with a diversity lens. At the same time, faculty, principal investigators (PIs), and other scientists that manage labs, lead fieldwork, or teach students also have an important role to play. As authoritative figures of environments that people navigate on a near-daily basis, these individuals have outsized influence over the spaces where students and trainees most keenly feel the adverse impacts of systemic bias. This power to alter career trajectories is most apparent with reference letters, grades, and providing access to resources and opportunities ("gatekeeping"), but it also manifests subtly in day-today interactions and norms that can either support or undermine people's sense of belonging, fulfillment, and confidence. Here, we highlight actions for scientists supervising labs, fieldwork, and classrooms to address systemic biases that impact students and trainees, our next generation of geoscientists. While faculty and PIs are the target of this article, these ideas are relevant to any individual in a position of authority (e.g., lab managers, teaching assistants, fieldwork organizers). We focus on tractable actions that can have immediate positive impacts for marginalized community members, mitigating harm while critical but protracted progress continues at higher organizational levels (Keisling et al., 2020; Ovienmhada et al., 2020). We call on all scientists in leadership roles to personally reflect and engage with research on anti-oppressive practices published by historians, social scientists, and education scholars, and to translate this learning into sustained, lifelong action.

show abstract

“…Such experiences could understandably discourage some to forgo fieldwork altogether because of fear. For LGBTQ+ geoscientists, fear of travelling to countries where their status is criminalized (Olcott and Downen, 2020); for BAME geoscientists, fear of experiencing racism (Anadu et al, 2020); for disabled geoscientists, fear of being in unfamiliar and poorly accessible areas far from the safety net of home and professional healthcare support (Tucker and Horton, 2019;Stokes et al, 2019).…”

Section: Fun Not Fearmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assigning personal assistants or mentors to vulnerable individuals can enhance inclusion and access in field environments, especially if the mentor is someone with shared experiences that allow them to relate well to their mentees (Olcott and Downen, 2020). This mentor/assistant can liaise with their mentees prior to the fieldtrip, to gain understanding of their personal and cultural circumstances and abilities.…”

Section: Fun Not Fearmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six simple steps towards making GEES fieldwork more accessible and inclusive

Lawrence¹,

Dowey²

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Science programme curriculums, and a defining aspect of most geosciencerelated degrees. At its best, fieldwork offers students valuable opportunities to develop independent research skills in real-world situations, examine analogues for a range of geoscientific concepts, and socialise with peers. It offers experiences that are challenging to replicate using virtual/remote learning. However, at its worst, traditional fieldwork practice and culture can present barriers to access and hostile environments that epitomise the broader equality, diversity and inclusivity problems faced by the geosciences.With the role of fieldwork increasingly being called into question, here we promote simple adaptations that can make fieldwork more accessible and enjoyable for all.

show abstract

The Challenges of Fieldwork for LGBTQ+ Geoscientists

Abstract: A new survey reveals the unique issues that traveling for research poses for LGBTQ+ scientists. The data should help us create solutions that foster safety and inclusion.

Cited by 42 publications

References 0 publications

Safety and Belonging in the Field: A Checklist for Educators

Safety and Belonging in the Field: A Checklist for Educators

Counteracting Systemic Bias in the Lab, Field, and Classroom

Six simple steps towards making GEES fieldwork more accessible and inclusive

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About