IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and
Accessibility) work has become a focal point for many
scientific communities in recent years, including the
planetary science and astrophysics communities. Demographic
studies (meant to understand the diversity of a population),
workplace climate surveys (which seek to understand issues
with inclusion and accessibility), and major national reports
(which are created to help shape that policies that lead to
equity) will all be discussed within this presentation, and
examples from recent reports will be used. One of the example
studies that will be shown is the CSWA Survey on Workplace
Climate (which the speaker is a co-author and lead organizer
for), which sought to discover whether scientists in the
astronomical and planetary science communities experienced a
hostile work environment. Notable conclusions from this survey
include that inappropriate comments, harassment, and assault
lead to a number of scientists feeling unsafe in their
workplaces, and pursuing fewer scholarly opportunities as a
direct result of these experiences. These results were
directly connected to diversity, with
intersectionally-underrepresented populations typically
reporting the most harassment. This presentation will also
highlight not only the problems being seen within these field,
but also the solutions being worked out to mitigate biases and
harassment within the sciences. The conversation will
additionally include a discussion on allyship and leadership's
responsibility to create safe environments. This presentation
is meant for anyone looking to improve their work climate and
create a safe, welcoming community for all scientists to
achieve success.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Christina R. Richey is the Program
Manager for the Planetary Science Research and Analysis Office
at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Dr. Richey provides guidance on
the proposal process and trains researchers within the
community on best practices for proposal submission and
review. Christina is additionally an affiliate on the Europa
Clipper Mission. Prior to joining NASA JPL in 2018, Christina
worked at NASA HQ as a Program Officer and the Deputy Science
Advisor for R&A. In addition to their science management
activities, Dr. Richey has held several leadership positions
and has actively engaged in education and public outreach
opportunities. Dr. Richey is currently the co-Chair of the EDI
Working Group of the NASA Planetary Science Division
Assessment Groups, which recently worked to create and
highlight major IDEA paper efforts for the 2023 Planetary
Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey. Dr. Richey was a
member of the NASA Headquarters Working Group on Implicit
Bias, as well as a member of the Hubble Space Telescope
Working Group on Anonymizing Proposal Reviews, which won a
2020 NASA Group Achievement Award. They have also been awarded
a Special Service Award at NASA HQ (2014) for their work
within the Planetary Science community. In 2015, Dr. Richey
was honored with the AAS DPS Meritorious Career Service Award,
the Harold Masursky Award.