Aside from the shared challenges we face as marine scientists, the reality of our work experiences can differ largely in relation to the intersection of our identities (e.g. gender, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation…). Society and work environments expose us differently to discrimination in its variety of forms, going from stereotyped bias and prejudice to verbal, physical and/or sexual harassment and violence. Fieldwork situations in particular can act as concentrated mesocosms of these universal and pervasive issues. Considering the prevalence of these issues, we need supportive systems for when science participants are at their most vulnerable.
In this network session, we will address the issue of discrimination in the context of fieldwork, in relation to the broader work context of marine science. We will discuss the universality and context-specificity of lived experiences to determine the different scales at which these issues operate and how we can come to potential solutions and approaches. Since the feeling of being alone acts as a core barrier for people to tackle these issues in their working environments, we consider a network session key to empowering marine scientists to tackle discrimination in the workplace.
Participants in the session are invited to contribute experiences, difficulties and insights in this excruciatingly difficult topic to tackle. The goal of the network session is to share experiences, to make connections and inspire each other with approaches and ideas.
The main desired output of this session is empowering marine scientists to make positive changes by forming a network of peers passionate about creating supportive work environments.
