The Chronicle of Higher Education article “5 Ways to Welcome Women to Computer Science” contains tips that should be broadly applicable, including for Mathematical and Statistical Sciences departments.
The AWM has posted a Response to Dr. Thompson’s Letter in the AMS Notices (11/2019). In it they explicitly do not attack Dr. Thompson, but they do affirm their view that diversity statements are valuable. See our previous posts on this issue here and here.
Here are some updates from our previous post about the AMS Notices editorial on diversity statements. QSIDE has posted a second update including the text of an anonymous letter in support of the editorial. The AMS inclusion/exclusion blog (one of our favorites) posted about the situation here and seeks to collect comments about the situation.
The December issue of the AMS Notices includes an opinion piece by Abigail Thompson, a Vice President of the AMS. In it, the author compares required diversity statements for job applicants to the loyalty oaths that were required of faculty members in the past. This has sparked a significant uproar in the community. See, e.g., a post from QSIDE and a follow-up post. You can sign a letter to the AMS in support of diversity statements.
For perspective, the AMS does have an Interim Director for Diversity and Inclusion, but does not seem to have a standing committee charged with furthering the AMS’s goals for diversity and inclusion. “Currently, the AMS is working with a consultant to guide and extend our work to promote a mathematics community that is diverse, respectful, accessible, and inclusive.”
We at DINAMICS are deeply inspired by Hidden Figures, in particular, because of the overdue attention to women of color in STEM. So we are excited to learn that the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act was recently signed into law. Read more about it in this AMS post.
Thomas Goodwillie writes about a course he taught at Brown University called Race and Gender in the Scientific Community. In particular:
“This post is aimed at people who have good intentions but who also have a tendency toward complacency. I think that there are a lot of us in that category. It’s easy to see oneself as being committed to opposing racism and sexism and other wrongs (such as class prejudice, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism), and it’s easy to agree that these wrongs ought to be addressed in one’s own professional world; yet at the same time it can also be easy — at least for someone like me — to have only a fairly abstract idea of what is actually wrong, and only vague ideas of what anyone might do about it.”
Alisha Haridasani Gupta writes for the New York Times’ series In Her Words about whether algorithms can be sexist. This follows numerous earlier reports about how algorithms can be racist. Sounds like a job for some woke or waking mathematical and statistical scientists.
The Harvey and Lucinda Gantt Multicultural Center will sponsor several events for Native American Heritage Month in November. See the poster below and the Gantt Center website for more information.
From the Clemson Calendar:
Diversity in Higher Education: The Sikes Sit-In and Administration
An interactive live forum exploring the Sikes Sit-In from the persepective of Administrators. Presented by: Commision on the Black Expereince and the EDL 9770: Diversity Issues in Higher Education course.
We should be clear: we do not know the agenda for this event. We hope that it accurately portrays the events around the Sikes Hall sit-in, the frustrating responses by administration (including the appropriation of the “See The Stripes” title, see also IHE) and describes concrete, meaningful actions being taken by Clemson administration.
Clemson will observe Trans Awareness Week with several events during the week of November 18. Click here for a full list of the events.