Symposium: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Ichthyology & Herpetology IIIRoom: Ballroom 111A2022-07-30 13:30 - 16:00 |
| Moderator: Jennifer Deitloff |
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1. 13:30 Natural history museums as incubators for student engagement and diversifying skills. Michelle Koo*, University of California Berkeley mkoo@berkeley.edu
Museums are an often hidden gem to engage students in hands-on learning and multidisciplinary training. Through a personal lens, I will describe how a natural history museum can be a natural hub for creating a community for students interested in biodiversity from informatics to field work. One model for engaging students in biodiversity science is through recruitment of undergraduates to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley. This decade-long program to increase student participation in collections and research demonstrates the mutual benefits of undergraduate involvement. Museums and their staff benefit from the infusion of critical help in collections work and an increased intellectual vitality, while students gain essential skills and an unparalleled exposure to biodiversity. Natural history museums also offer alternative career paths for those dedicated to herpetology. Ideally the natural history museum community can be strengthened by diversifying perspectives, people, and skills. |
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2. 14:00 Spheres of Influence: Being a Queer Mentor, Advocate, and Activator in Biology and Higher Education. M. Rockwell Parker*, James Madison University mrockwellparker@gmail.com
As a cisgender gay man, I lacked accessible role models throughout my training in STEM who could serve as lenses on the academy. I also did not see spaces or networks in which I could grow as a professional and find community with other LGBTQ+ colleagues. My identity was solidified long ago along within a rich population of queer peers, but I often felt alone in the wide world of biology. As an activator, I sought to transform my discipline however I could; however, I lacked an awareness of how my identities would influence my practice as a mentor and professional. I worked first within my safest place, ASIH, to grow a culture of visible and proud queerness. I also formed my mentoring strategy as a faculty member from inclusive practices focused on empathy and identity. As I became more vocal in hierarchical systems, I joined broader causes driven by people from historically excluded groups to work at the roots of inequity in higher education. It was then I realized the contexts for driving change: I could only be effective within specific spheres of influence. In this presentation, I will discuss how understanding those spheres evolved from hard lessons in seeking justice in higher education via inclusive and equitable practice |
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3. 14:30 “It’s completely erasure”: A qualitative exploration of experiences of transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and questioning students in biology courses. Sarah Eddy*, Florida International University sleddy81@gmail.com
Biology is the study of the diversity of life, which includes diversity in sex, gender, and sexual and romantic orientations. However, there are beginning to be hints that undergraduate biology courses focus on only a narrow representation of this diversity (binary sexes, heterosexual orientations, etc.). In this study, we interview students with queer genders to understand the messages about sex, gender, and orientation they encounter in biology and the impact of these messages on them. We find five overarching themes in these interviews. Students describe two narratives about sex, gender, and orientation in their biology classes that make biology implicitly exclusionary. These narratives harm students by impacting their sense of belonging, career preparation, and interest in biology content. However, students employ a range of resilience strategies to resist these harms. Finally, students describe the currently unrealized potential for biology and biology courses to validate queer identities by representing the diversity in sex and orientation in nature. We provide teaching suggestions to make biology more queer-inclusive derived from student interviews. |
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4. 15:00 Global Women in Herpetology Project. Umilaela Arifin*, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change; Itzue W. Caviedes-Solis, Swarthmore College; Sinlan Poo, Memphis Zoo u.arifin@leibniz-lib.de
Gender equality remains a major issue globally. Though it has been improving in some areas during the last decades, women in many professions, including herpetology, are still underrepresented as a whole. The number of women is lower than men at all career stages, and data shows that representation decreases as the career stage increases. Societal structures, cultures, norms, and traditions have been identified as factors contributing to gender inequality. However, the exposure to diverse role models and broader representation within STEM has a positive effect in the recruitment and retention of students and early career biologists, especially from underrepresented groups in STEM. To increase the visibility of women in herpetology across disciplines, regions, and cultural backgrounds, we are working on a collaborative project with female herpetologists worldwide. This project, titled "Global Women in Herpetology" consists of two main parts: (1) a book and (2) a network directory. The book is a compilation of short stories where 50 female herpetologists from 50 countries (representing one quarter of the countries in the world) share a personal narrative that intersects their gender, cultural background, and professional journey. The profits of this book will be used to establish a conference scholarship for female students in underrepresented regions around the world. The network directory provides a searching tool to promote collaborations with and among women. Through this initiative, our aim is to collectively place a spotlight on the diversity of women in our field and encourage more young generations to enter the field of herpetology. |
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5. 15:15 Stereotype threat as a barrier to belonging, and what we can do about it. Jessica Tingle*, University of Akron jessica.tingle@email.ucr.edu
Negative stereotypes serve as a barrier to belonging and make it difficult for people from minoritized groups to persist in many fields. Stereotype threat stems from the intersection of sexism, racism, and other "isms" with fixed mindsets about ability. This presentation will explore the causes and consequences of stereotype threat, as wells as ways that scientists can mitigate stereotype threat and foster a sense of belonging to create a better climate for students, mentees, and colleagues. |
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6. 15:45 Concluding Remarks.
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