Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

It is very important to me personally and professionally to be committed to making a significant contribution to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), both within academia but also the wider world. I am currently a member of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) Committee for Diversity in Astronomy and Geophysics (CDAG), as well as an active mentor for several early-career researchers (ECRs). Below are some concrete and specific examples of activities I have helped organise and participate in during my career, which I am always trying to improve and expand upon.

Disadvantaged Social Groups

In the 2022-2023 academic year, I was a teaching fellow for the World Science Scholars program of the World Science Festival, which aimed to inspire and provided university-level research exposure and mentoring sessions for gifted and talented high-school students from all backgrounds around the world to realise their full potential in STEM.

Women in Science

Whilst at KU Leuven as a postdoctoral researcher, I helped organise annual workshops in astronomy as part of the Ladies@Science event for female high-school students. A fantastic resource for finding excellent female public speakers for STEM outreach is available: here.

LGBTQIA+

Newcastle University is a Stonewall Diversity Champanion and has a fantastic support network through its Rainbow Network. Other support networks include the Institute of Physics and the Astronomy and Astrophysics Outlist.

Early Career Researchers (ECRs)

In Summer 2020, a group of ECR Fellows within the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) set up the Early Career Network (ECN). Between its inception and until March 2023, I was the Secretary of committee of the ECN. The main goals of the ECN are to:
  • Build a support network of ECR peers in astronomy, geophysics and beyond
  • Support ECRs to join and maximally engage with the RAS
  • Provide tangible access to experts and career mentoring across different career options
  • Facilitate skills training and support of ECRs

    • As an official part of the RAS, the ECN committee had responsibility for:
  • Oversight of ECN activities and that they follow the RAS Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Policy
  • Ensuring that ECN events supported by the RAS operate within their defined budget
  • Bridging ECRs, RAS staff and RAS council
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of ECN activities and monitor impact
  • Liaising with the RAS membership committee

    • The events I helped organise during my time as Secretary included a poster competition, careers training and mentoring workshops, and a well-being survey. The outcomes of these events were synthesised in a series of open-access A&G articles:
  • 'Hear it through the grapevine: advice from panel members on how to find your first postdoc
  • 'Stay in love with your PhD': mentoring advice from the ECN's first event
  • 'Generation Covid': mental health and impact survey of the COVID pandemic on ECRs
  • 'Pandemic posters': highlights from the ECN's ECR poster competition