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Working To Ensure a More Diverse, Equitable, Inclusive and Accessible Workplace: DEIA Actions Within the US Geological Survey’s Alaska Region

Federal research agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have similar systemic inequities and diversity demographics as are commonly found in academic institutions. Out of concerns over the lack of diversity within working environments, a group from the USGS’ Alaska Region (one of seven USGS Administrative Regions) took part in the 2021 “Unlearning Racism in GEoscience” (URGE) curriculum with support from Alaska Region management. At the end of the URGE curriculum, management met with participants to review recommendations and discuss next steps. One outcome was the formation of a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Steering Committee (SC), along with the funding of a quarter-time DEIA coordinator position. The SC, which consists of the authors of this abstract, has met regularly since August 2021 to identify, prioritize and develop actions for addressing systemic inequities and barriers within our work environment. Initial priority areas include hiring and mentorship/onboarding. For hiring, we have taken a systematic look at all aspects of the hiring process and identified a number of changes to implement, including: working on expanding the diversity of qualified applicants pools through more intentional outreach, internships and staff participation in conferences that center on historically underrepresented groups; expanding the places where jobs are advertised; and putting measures in place for mitigating implicit bias during the hiring process. For mentoring, we identified a need to improve the onboarding experience for new employees and are in the initial stages of designing a mentorship program that incorporates best practices including mentor training, facilitated matching of mentor/mentee pairs and establishing cohorts. We are in the early stages of implementation in each area. Our next priority area will be examining physical and psychological safety in the office and in the field through a DEIA lens.

Session: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Seismology [Poster]

Type: Poster

Room: Evergreen Ballroom

Date: 4/20/2022

Presentation Time: 08:00 AM Pacific

Presenting Author: Seth C. Moran

Student Presenter: No

Additional Authors