Experiences of those with Minoritized Genders in the Geosciences: A Literature Review

Thursday 2:15pm
Oral Session Part of Thursday Oral Session A

Authors

Megan Lapkoff, Clemson University
Kelly Lazar, Clemson University
Harassment experienced by minoritized genders within geosciences has been documented for decades. This harassment ranges from microaggressions, negative assumptions about career motivations, bullying, and sexual assault. Fieldwork can be especially hostile for women and genderqueer scientists due to the potential for remoteness and isolation. Additionally, academia and industry have been shown to push out minoritized genders from early career onward. Due to these and other problematic cultural norms within geosciences, a systematic literature review was done to assess the current research surrounding the experiences of minoritized genders within the geosciences. Three databases were searched (Web of Science, Scopus, and Georef) and using several inclusion parameters nineteen papers were selected to be included. A total of nineteen papers were included for this literature review. Multiple themes emerged from the literature: the ack of representation of genderqueer scientists, the "leaky" pipeline, academia post-Ph.D., conferences, the impact of intersectionality, sexual assault, the representation of women in geoscience, role models, and fieldwork. These were then grouped into larger themes of Actions, Negative Environments, and Outcomes. All three categories impact each other and contribute to the loss of women and genderqueer scientists within geosciences. Moving forward geosciences should look inwardly at the experiences of these underrepresented scientists with intentions to better support and change the current climate within geoscience places and spaces.