SMBE, through the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) Task Force, aims to address systemic racism, sexism, colonialism, and other exclusion in our society.
SMBE DIVERSITY STATEMENT
Our goal as a society is to foster a rich, interactive climate for sharing, discussing, and furthering scientific knowledge. In doing so, we welcome individuals with diverse perspectives and backgrounds. We believe that, as a scientific society, we benefit from a strong commitment to community-building. Membership in a society inherently evokes the notion of belonging or inclusion, and we strive to make this society one where all members are encouraged and able to participate, regardless of career stage or background. Furthermore, these values are not limited to our membership but form the basis of our goals for outreach to members of the scientific community and society at large.
SMBE IDEA TASK FORCE
Mission
The SMBE IDEA Task Force aims to increase the participation of scientists from diverse backgrounds (gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, career stages, geographic location, ethnicity, etc.) in the fields of molecular biology and evolution. The goal of the task force is to broaden recruitment and retention across groups historically underrepresented or minoritised in these fields, removing barriers to participation in the society's activities, and fostering a diverse, respectful, and welcoming community that serves and benefits all of its members.
The task force will annually invite members of SMBE to propose initiatives to actively promote inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. SMBE will support selected initiatives with up to $25,000. Examples of initiatives could include but are not limited to workshops, symposia, training opportunities, stand-alone featured talks, or inequity data collection in particular groups, countries, or regions (to name a few). The 2023 call for proposals is now open, please see HERE for more information.
Do you have a suggestion for how SMBE can be more inclusive? Let us know anonymously by completing this form.
Contact the SMBE IDEA Task Force by email or Twitter.
We are recruiting for new task force members! Check out the call HERE!
Task Force Members
Co-chair: Ravinder K Kanda, Oxford Brookes University, UK
Co-chair: Samantha López Clinton, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Sweden
SMBE council Liaison Josefa González, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, CSIC, UPF, Spain.
SMBE council Liaison Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, University of California Davis, U.S.A.
C. Eduardo Guerra Amorim, California State University Northridge, U.S.A.
Christopher Robles, UCLA, U.S.A.
Grace Yuh Chwen Lee, University of California, Irvine, U.S.A.
Miriam Miyagi, Harvard University, U.S.A.
Federico Hoffman, Mississippi State University, U.S.A.
Irene Gallego Romero, University of Melbourne, Australia