Initial Publication Date: May 8, 2024

Becoming an Inclusive Geosciences* Leader

For Workshop Leaders »

Workshop Description

Becoming an Inclusive Geosciences Leader is an interactive workshop to help graduate students build a more inclusive community in their current institution and develop key leadership skills for being an inclusive professional geoscientist. Components could include,

  • Why this workshop is needed?
  • Skills for supporting the whole student (you, or your current/future students)?
  • What challenges do you or your institution face?
  • In-depth discussion on actions that can be taken to create a welcoming environment
  • Avoiding implicit bias
  • Speaking up as a bystander
  • Community-focused** and individual planning for action in the short and longer term. 

One of the key features of the NAGT Traveling Workshops Program (TWP) is that discussions, action plans, and other workshop outcomes are recorded in a private online workspace for future reference.  Through this workshop, participants will develop greater understanding and skills in creating an equitable and inclusive culture.

*Geosciences, broadly speaking and inclusive of the earth/ocean/atmosphere/etc.

**The community to be focused on will be determined by the organizers in consultation with the program leaders for each workshop. Examples could include: department, program, graduate students, next generation of geosciences professionals, etc. Some aspects of this could be adapted to early career professionals (e.g. postdocs) in your department in consultation with the leaders.

 

See an Example Program »

Goals

  • To initiate and/or continue to build capacity in understanding of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging in the geo- and environmental sciences and why it is important to individuals, institutions, and our field
  • To build skills in fostering an inclusive community in the classroom, research community, and department/program and (if needed) develop priorities for future improvement
  • To facilitate the development of individual and community action plans for creating a welcoming environment in our professional spaces
  • To create a space for networking amongst graduate students and for sharing best practices and lessons learned in the process of carrying out one's action plan for broadening participation in the environmental and geosciences
  • Participants will leave with a collective action plan, encompassing short- and long- term plans, and start working on an individual action plan (whether it is completed will depend on workshop length)

Resources