How to make EPSC events more diverse - Diversity Committee’s activities and plans

The Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) is the annual meeting place of the Europlanet Society. First held in Berlin in 2006 and regularly attracting more than 1,000 participants, EPSC is the largest planetary science meeting in Europe. It covers the entire range of planetary sciences with an extensive mix of talks, workshops and poster sessions while providing a unique space for networking and exchange of experiences. For an event with this dimension and importance, it is crucial to think, discuss and improve the diversity, inclusiveness, and accessibility plan of EPSC to enable as wide an access as possible for the entire planetary science community worldwide. This is one of the main tasks of the Europlanet Diversity Committee. 

The Diversity Committee of the Europlanet Society dates back to 2017, when a Diversity Working Group was formed after a Diversity breakfast during EPSC 2017 in Riga, Latvia (1). This working group was ratified as a formal Diversity Committee during EPSC 2018 in Berlin, during the Europlanet General Assembly. Our main aims are to promote equality, diversity and inclusivity in STEM subjects, with a particular focus on EPSC and workshops. The Committee members are the diversity officers from all the Europlanet Regional Hubs, in addition to representatives from the Europlanet Early Careers (EPEC) network and the Europlanet Executive Board. This structure enables close links between the Diversity Committee, the Hubs and other Europlanet structures, and ensures that diversity is embedded within all activities of the Europlanet Society.  

The target groups that have been addressed by the Europlanet Diversity Committee are mainly: women, early career participants, researchers from the under-represented European countries, non-EU participants, colleagues with disabilities, people of color, other minorities, and allies. Allies are generally defined as white, male, from western countries, in an advanced career path, who are willing and interested in taking action to change the community towards a more inclusive and welcoming society. Each year, the Committee organizes various opportunities during EPSC to open a dialogue with the community, to collect their needs and to address solutions. 

Measures implemented through the activities of Diversity Committee in the venue selection and operation of EPSC include: provision of food suitable for those with various dietary requirements, access to gender neutral washroom facilities, a raising of awareness for conveners regarding implicit bias and the importance of having diverse panel members, and generally normalizing the promotion and discussion of diversity in STEM at academic meetings. This year, for EPSC2024 in Berlin, for the second time, we are offering childcare, free of charge, to parents with young children, in close collaboration with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC). The provision of a ‘Silent Room’ is now a tradition at EPSC, enabling participants to find refuge from the crowded conference, and offering a private and comfortable space for nursing mothers, prayers, or any other needs requiring isolation for a short time. Accessibility to the venue is always closely reviewed by the LOC and the Diversity Committee. Offering the congress in hybrid mode is another way of ensuring accessibility for those who can’t travel to attend the congress. 

Exchange with the community and collecting feedback from the individuals are vital to a committee trying to ensure a diverse and inclusive atmosphere. In order to achieve this, we organize an annual Diversity Roundtable, Diversity sessions in the scientific programme, a diversity keynote talk during the ice-breaker on Sunday prior to EPSC, and various types of workshops and training. Feedback from all EPSC participants is also solicited through a form that asks respondents to share their thoughts and comments on what they liked and didn’t like about the meeting, and suggestions for change at future meetings. The summary of these findings are discussed by the EPSC and Diversity Committees to ensure that lessons are learned and the meeting adapts to the needs of the community.

The Diversity Committee of the Europlanet Society aims to highlight diversity within the planetary science community and to reduce the gender gap on Wikipedia. Therefore, we have organized, in collaboration with Women in Red and WikiDonne, since EPSC 2020, the Planetary Science Wiki Edit-a-thon. An Edit-a-thon (‘edit marathon’) is an organized event where editors from an online community (such as Wikipedia in this case) write, translate and improve articles on a specific topic. During EPSC, we provide basic training to start editing/writing Wikipedia articles. We also meet regularly throughout the year to continue to add and translate articles of women biographies and other under-represented communities in planetary science.

References: (1) Campbell et al., EWASS 2018