Building an inclusive wave in marine science: Sense of belonging and Society for Women in Marine Science symposia

Katherine N Canfield; Alexa R Sterling; Christina M Hernández; Sophie N Chu; Bethanie R Edwards; Diana N Fontaine; Jillian M Freese; Marissa S Giroux; Aubree E Jones; Alexandra J McCarty; Hannah K Morrissette; Hilary I Palevsky; Catherine E Raker; Anna R Robuck; Gabriela Serrato Marks; Patricia S Thibodeau; Anna E Windle

doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2023.103110

Building an inclusive wave in marine science: Sense of belonging and Society for Women in Marine Science symposia

Prog Oceanogr. 2023 Nov 1:218:1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.pocean.2023.103110.

Authors

Katherine N Canfield¹, Alexa R Sterling², Christina M Hernández^{3

4}, Sophie N Chu⁵, Bethanie R Edwards⁶, Diana N Fontaine⁷, Jillian M Freese⁸, Marissa S Giroux⁹, Aubree E Jones¹⁰, Alexandra J McCarty¹¹, Hannah K Morrissette¹², Hilary I Palevsky¹³, Catherine E Raker¹⁰, Anna R Robuck¹, Gabriela Serrato Marks¹⁴, Patricia S Thibodeau¹⁵, Anna E Windle¹⁶

Affiliations

¹ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA.
² U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, Water Division, Boston, MA 02109, USA.
³ Cornell University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.
⁴ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Biology Department, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
⁵ Captura Corporation, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA.
⁶ University of California Berkeley, Earth and Planetary Science Department, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
⁷ University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA.
⁸ J. Craig Venter Institute, Infectious Diseases, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
⁹ Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, c/o U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA.
¹⁰ University of Rhode Island, Biological and Environmental Sciences, Kingston, RI 02881, USA.
¹¹ Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, Marine Advisory Program, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA.
¹² Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Marine Conservation Lab, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA.
¹³ Boston College, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
¹⁴ Stellate Communications, New York, NY 10007, USA.
¹⁵ University of New England, School of Marine and Environmental Programs, Biddeford, MA 04005, USA.
¹⁶ University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point Laboratory, Cambridge, MD 21613, USA.

PMID: 38269259
PMCID: PMC10805246 (available on 2024-11-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.pocean.2023.103110

Abstract

Achieving gender equity is a long-standing and ubiquitous challenge in marine science. Creating equitable experiences for all genders in marine science requires recognizing scientists' intersectional identities, and how this leads to unique lived experiences of privilege and marginalization. One approach to increase equitable experiences for women in marine science is to create affinity groups where women can learn from each other, share their experiences, and provide support and mentorship. The Society for Women in Marine Science (SWMS) is one such organization, founded to amplify the work of early career women in marine science and create community, through events such as full-day symposium events. This study investigates the experiences of symposium attendees for four events held from 2018 through 2020, as reported in pre- and post-symposium surveys. We used quantitative analysis of the open-ended survey questions to examine the demographics of attendees and their fields of study. Qualitative thematic analysis identified the most effective aspects of the symposia, areas of logistical and content improvement for future symposia, and emphasized the unique challenges women in marine science experience. The majority of symposium attendees were white graduate students. Nearly all attendees identified as women, with a small number of men and non-binary individuals. Symposia attendees enjoyed opportunities for professional development and interactions with colleagues across career stages. We present recommendations for continuing to foster a sense of belonging in marine science and STEM more broadly, both specific to SWMS and transferable actions that can be applied for other affinity groups. These suggestions include empathetic event logistics, continual democratic evaluation, identity reflexivity among group leaders, and professional development activities targeted towards the unique needs of the affinity group. The positive responses received from SWMS's adaptive integration of survey results into symposia demonstrate that incorporating these recommendations and findings will help create an inclusive wave in marine science.

Keywords: Affinity groups; Diversity; Early career; Equity; Gender identity; Symposium events; USA, Maryland, Cambridge; USA, Massachusetts, Woods Hole; USA, Rhode Island, Narragansett.

Grants and funding

EPA999999/ImEPA/Intramural EPA/United States