Inclusive Environment
The Grogan Lab is committed to creating a culture that actively recruits, supports, and retains people of diverse racial, ethnic, sexuality, gender, socioeconomic, and other backgrounds and identities. We strive to create an environment 1) that is not just free from bias, discrimination, and bigotry, but actively works to dismantle the systems that perpetuate those problems, 2) where all members are dedicated to self-improvement and education, 3) where all members are comfortable with speaking out and promoting anti-racist and anti-discriminatory thinking and actions. Further, we acknowledge that fundamental concepts in our research, such as evolution, selection, and genetic variation between and among populations, are often weaponized to support discriminatory ideologies, especially racist ones. This has been true throughout the history of the fields of evolutionary biology, genetics, and statistics, but especially in anthropological genetics. As practitioners of these fields, it is our responsibility to confront harmful misapplications of science and to recognize the systems of oppression within STEM a global level. We are committed to changing our fields towards an equitable and just future.
To accomplish the above, we follow three principles: communication, education, and action.
Education
We are dedicated to constantly improving our own understanding of the systems that create inequity and improving our ability to be allies. Because education is an essential part of self-improvement, our lab maintains an evolving library of readings on anti-racist and anti-discriminatory actions and on improving diversity and equity in academia.
We commit to actively learning about our privileges and how to use them to uplift those who may struggle in ways we don’t. We commit to regular self-examination to identify and challenge our existing biases through self-reflection and reading broadly. We especially commit to listening to each other on these topics.
We commit to attending regular anti-racist, anti-bias, and bystander intervention trainings. We support attendance and participation in diversity-focused activities such as journal clubs and anti-racist panels at conferences.
Communication
We believe that self-education should lead to action. Because we strive to create a supportive environment where people are comfortable giving and receiving constructive criticism, we expect this to include calling out discriminatory language or actions (be they intentional or unintentional); it is understood that a simple “that’s not cool” is a quick signal that some language is inappropriate. Speaking up about small difficulties can prevent big problems. We work under the assumption of good intent in our interactions with others but will own the impact of our actions.
When someone approaches us with a comment about our own behavior, we commit to acknowledging the harm we may cause, apologizing without making excuses, learning about the roots of potential harm, and adjusting our behavior. We remember that while we are all here to be scientists, we are also all human and will make mistakes. We will hold each other accountable for our mistakes and our stiving to do better.
We also support lab members in calling out discriminatory practices outside of our lab, as we believe this is a critical first step in uprooting entrenched racism, ableism, homophobia, trans-phobia, and bigotry in our community.
Action
As a young research team, the Grogan Lab is still laying the foundation for our long-term DEI efforts. This can be as simple as listening to and uplifting voices from marginalized communities even when they challenge your assumptions and make you uncomfortable. Or making space and time for trainees to heal, take care of their communities, or fight for justice. Or these actions can be more substantial. At minimum, we are committed to the following:
Doing and promoting equitable and community-based science. Being mindful about the implications of our research in a broader societal context and as such, conscientious in our communication both within academia and in the public domain.
Developing support for research collaborations with marginalized communities involved in our work.
Decolonizing our teaching and outreach content, particularly by selecting readings and other materials that are inclusive of the contributions of Black, Indigenous, and other underrepresented or marginalized scientists
Encouragement of student participation in existing department and university DEI efforts.
Whenever possible, financially compensating undergraduate students for their research work within the lab when not enrolled for course credit.
Intentional, diversity-minded approach to lab recruitment and seminar/panel/colloquia/etc. invitations.
Lastly, we commit to revisiting and revising this document on a regular basis as we continue to learn how we, as a community of scientists, can help address inequalities and injustices and effect change.
UC-specific resources:
University Office of Equity and Inclusion
University Reporting: Title IX Reporting, Accessibility Reporting, Bias & Discrimination Reporting
Additional Resources:
Understanding our eugenic past to take steps towards scientific accountability, in this short article Rori Rohlfs provides a brief overview of the history of eugenics in the fields of statistics and population genetics.
Superior: The Return of Race Science, Angela Saini’s book is a good introduction to the history and resurgence of race science in biology.
African Americans in evolutionary science: where we have been, and what’s next by Joseph L. Graves
The ecological and evolutionary consequences of systemic racism in urban environments by Schell et al.
Diversity and inclusion activisms in animal behaviour and the ABS: a historical view from the U.S.A., in this article Danielle N. Lee focuses on the field of Animal Behavior, but also includes informative and broad discussions on the history of racial and social justice and diversity activities in the sciences.
STEM equity reading list, Needhi Bhalla Lab-cultivated list on research articles related to equity in STEM research and training.
Culturally Aware Mentorship, Sherilynn Black and Angela Byars-Winston lead this NIGMS webinar on effective and culturally aware mentorship.