Diversity in Ecology

Making a More Inclusive Society

Over the last 30 years the Ecological Society of America has been monitoring the diversity of its membership and developing an award-winning mentoring program for students underrepresented in STEM, in an effort to broaden the range of human perspectives engaged in the practice of ecology (History | 20th Anniversary of SEEDS (esa.org). These efforts are even more important today because so many of the current global environmental problems target people of color and diverse community engagement is urgently needed to apply ecological principles in providing environmental solutions.

Today’s ESA members have organized groups of diversity-focused ecologists who work to heighten awareness of the human dimension in ecological practices and highlight the interests and representation of diverse environmental professionals. These affinity groups in the society include: the Asian Ecology, Black Ecologists, Communication and Engagement, Environmental Justice, Human Ecology, Inclusive Ecology   and Traditional Ecological Knowledge sections and the Latin America and Caribbean chapter.

Over the years, the ESA Committee on Diversity and Education combined its education and diversity-focused efforts, developing many great teaching and mentoring initiatives. On the education side, ESA has focused on developing a multidimensional approach to improve our effectiveness in providing inclusive pedagogy and career skills needed to train the future environmental workforce (www.esa.org/4DEE).  On the diversity side, ESA has grown its SEEDS student mentoring program to increase diverse participation in the environmental careers. But in the last four years, the urgent need to increase diversity of ecologists was made clearer by the Black Lives Matter movement, and the disproportionate impact of COVID19 and climate change on people of color.

Thus in June 2020, ESA’s leadership emphatically committed to redoubling efforts to diversify the Society and the science of ecology, and provide more support for underrepresented  scientists. The ESA Governing Board formed a Task Force on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ).  Several blog posts summarizing what the Task Force learned from listening sessions and input from ESA leaders and members are available in the ESA EcoTone DEIJ series. The Task Force submitted a set of recommendations to the ESA Governing Board in November 2020, which included forming a separate ESA Diversity Committee.

In September 2021, a separate ESA Diversity Committee was established and charged to build awareness, build support and build a network of partnerships to more effectively address DEIJ issues, implement the DEIJ Task Force’s recommendations, and work to increase the diversity and support for ecologists of diverse backgrounds.

The ESA Diversity Committee is responsible for 1) advising ESA on the development of programs to enhance recruitment, training, and retention of underrepresented and marginalized groups in the ecological sciences, and 2) encouraging equitable treatment and representation of people of all genders, ages, races, ethnicities, abilities, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds. The Diversity Committee engages all ESA sections, chapters, and committees to address diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice within ESA and across the field of ecology. We also interact with the ESA Nominations Committee to help recruit a diverse pool of applicants for all ESA Awards, including the Commitment to Human Diversity in Ecology Award.

Current membership includes:

You can follow our ongoing blog series on diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.   Submission guidelines to the DEIJ Blog Series

ESA Annual Meeting

We take seriously the safe and welcoming experience of attendees at our Annual Meeting, and have built a number of practices into our meetings process. These meeting FAQ (and the special FAQ for the 2020 virtual meeting) provide a summary. We additionally require that all participants adhere to our Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics, and provide these guidelines for social media related to the meeting.

Every year, we bring underrepresented undergraduates to the Annual meeting to participate as part of the SEEDS program. We also make travel grants available for students and others to enable those to attend that may not have access to funds, including the Diversity and Inclusion Annual Meeting Travel Scholarships.  Please check ESA website for travel grant updates.

ESA Diversity Programs

ESA diversity-enhancement programs include the Excellence in Ecology Scholarships program, environmental career development programs (SEEDS) and the 2022 intersociety environmental partnership network funded by the National Science Foundation LEAPS initiative.

Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability (SEEDS)

SEEDS is ESA’s flagship award-winning education program. Its mission is to diversify and advance the ecology profession through opportunities that stimulate and nurture the interest of underrepresented students to participate, and to lead in ecology. Focused mainly at the undergraduate level, with extension services for communities, high schools, graduate students, and international collaborations, the SEEDS program promotes an ecology profession with wide representation to ensure environmental understanding and a sustainable future for all.

Reports and Other Resources

Resources For Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ)

We compiled resources shared during the Listening Session “Speaking of Race” on June 3, 2020, and combined those materials with other content available to the Society. This page includes science-focused resources for those working in the lab environment, and general resources that can be of use to anyone trying to stay informed on how we can approach issues of diversity from a variety of perspectives.

Explore the collection of articles on:

• Resources for PIs, academic administrators and program faculty
• How to be an Ally
• Educational Reform
• Understanding Racism
• Testimonies from the Field
• Demographic perspectives

Profiles of Ecologists Report
This report was the result of a 2005 survey of the ESA membership to: (1) determine the pattern of graduate degrees in ecology earned; (2) determine ethnicity and gender composition in the field; (3) catalog the nation’s environmental science capabilities; and (4) analyze current patterns of employment.