This section provides resources relating to the representation and participation of women, LGBTQIA+, trans, and non-binary people in the geosciences, which historically, has been low. As with many physical sciences, there are social norms and cultural features of our disciplines, teaching practices, workplaces, systems that exclude and discriminate against women, trans, and non-binary people. Though there have been many advances in equal opportunity there is much room for improvement. The following is a collection of resources that DiG-UK has located to help understand the challenges we face with gender and the geosciences. Note that this list is not comprehensive, and there is a focus on academia in the literature and a paucity of resources from industry. There are also very few resources for trans and non-binary people, and we would welcome suggestions in these area, please contact us via one of our social media links to contribute or suggest useful resources.
Articles – Blogs – Videos – Peer-reviewed papers
Articles
The Challenges of Fieldwork for LGBTQ+ Geoscientists. Olcott, A.N. and Downen, M.R. (2020) https://eos.org/features/the-challenges-of-fieldwork-for-lgbtq-geoscientists
Many women scientists sexually harassed during fieldwork A. Simmons, 2014 https://www.nature.com/news/many-women-scientists-sexually-harassed-during-fieldwork-1.15571
Girls into Geoscience S. Boulton and J. Fisher, 2017 https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Geoscientist/Archive/May-2017/Girls-into-Geoscience
Gender imbalance in US geoscience academia https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo113
Where are the women geoscientist professors? https://doi.org/10.1029/2003EO500008
Many women scientists sexually harassed during fieldwork https://www.nature.com/news/many-women-scientists-sexually-harassed-during-fieldwork-1.15571
Data illuminate a mountain of molehills facing women scientists https://eos.org/features/data-illuminate-mountain-molehills-facing-women-scientists
A conversation on building safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community in the geosciences https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24020-z
Blogs and Web Sites
Sara Beroff Women’s Bodies and Field Geoscience: Thoughts of a Zaftig Geologist https://geoscienceforthefuture.com/womens-bodies-and-field-geoscience-thoughts-of-a-zaftig-geologist/
Ingrid Carolina Ramón Parra Women in the Field: Tips, Tricks, and Thoughts about Gender and Field Research (includes lots of useful reading material at the end) https://medium.com/@ingridcarolinaramnparra/women-in-the-field-tips-tricks-and-thoughts-about-gender-and-field-research-f137e84be1ce
Q and A: What does it mean to be a woman in the geosciences? https://earth.stanford.edu/news/qa-what-does-it-mean-be-woman-geosciences
Higher Education Statistics Agency (UK): Database with current higher education student populations from which you can explore year, institution, nation, gender, race, and other demographic factors https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/whos-in-he
Girls into Geoscience https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Geoscientist/Archive/May-2017/Girls-into-Geoscience
An academic mother’s wish list: 12 things universities need https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00019-x?utm_source=Nature+Briefingandutm_campaign=28a179c0f5-briefing-dy-20190114andutm_medium=emailandutm_term=0_c9dfd39373-28a179c0f5-43634149
Videos
Papers and Books
Please note that some of these items may sit behind an institutional paywall.
Avallone, L.M., Hallar, A.G., Thiry, H. and Edwards, L.M., 2013. Supporting the retention and advancement of women in the atmospheric sciences: What women are saying. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 94(9), pp.1313-1316.https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/94/9/bams-d-12-00078.1.xml
Downen, M.R. and Olcott, A.N. (2023) Supporting LGBTQ+ geoscientists, in and out of the classroom. Journal of Geoscience Education 71(3), 301-306. Online at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10899995.2022.2116205
Dutt, K., Pfaff, D.L., Bernstein, A.F., Dillard, J.S. and Block, C.J., 2016. Gender differences in recommendation letters for postdoctoral fellowships in geoscience. Nature Geoscience, 9(11), pp.805-808. https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/~/media/shared/documents/society/diversity/resources/gender/gender%20differences%20recommendation%20letters%20nature%20geoscience.pdf?la=en
Ferreira, M., 2003. Gender issues related to graduate student attrition in two science departments. International Journal of Science Education, 25(8), pp.969-989. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690305026
Hanson, B., 2017. Journals invite too few women to referee. Nature, 541(7638), pp.455-457.https://www.nature.com/articles/541455a
Hazari, Z., Potvin, G., Lock, R.M., Lung, F., Sonnert, G. and Sadler, P.M., 2013. Factors that affect the physical science career interest of female students: Testing five common hypotheses. Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research, 9(2), p.020115. https://journals.aps.org/prper/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.020115Lerback, J. and
Hill, C., Corbett, C. and St Rose, A., 2010. Why so few? Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. American Association of University Women. 1111 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED509653
Kurdziel, J.P. and Libarkin, J.C., 2003. Research methodologies in science education: gender and the geosciences. Journal of Geoscience Education, 51(4), pp.446-452. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/research-methodologies-science-education-gender/docview/202778327/se-2
Macfarlane, A. and Luzzadder-Beach, S., 1998. OVERVIEW: Achieving equity between women and men in the geosciences. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 110(12), pp.1590-1614.https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1998)110%3C1590:OAEBWA%3E2.3.CO;2
Pickering, R. and Khosa, R.: The geological period no one talks about: menstruation in the field, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-167, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-167, 2023. https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU23/EGU23-167.html
Moss-Racusin, C.A., Dovidio, J.F., Brescoll, V.L., Graham, M.J. and Handelsman, J., 2013. Science Faculty’s Subtle Gender Biases Favor Male Students. In Women, Science, and Technology (pp. 3-14). Routledge.https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1211286109
Reano, D., Gedz, C., Angel, A.G,.Jr. and Johnson, E.A. (2023) Confluent identities in the geosciences. Journal of Geoscience Education 71(3), 288-300. Online at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10899995.2022.2158434
Stokes, P.J., Levine, R. and Flessa, K.W., 2015. Choosing the geoscience major: Important factors, race/ethnicity, and gender. Journal of Geoscience Education, 63(3), pp.250-263. https://doi.org/10.5408/14-038.1