Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I)

About the Working Group

E-SWAN Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Working Group (WG) works to promote diversity, equity practices with similar working groups in relevant scientific and professional associations. It also interacts with similar working groups the E-SWAN community.

The Working Group brings together members who want to identify and address barriers to participation in space weather and space climate activities. It raises awareness, gathers input from the community, develops recommendations and supports E-SWAN committees, event organisers and other relevant bodies in considering diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in their activities.

Its role is primarily advisory and collaborative. The implementation of recommendations often requires cooperation between the Working Group, the Executive Board, E-SWAN committees, event organisers and other members of the association. Improving DE&I within E-SWAN is therefore a shared and continuing responsibility.

 

What do we mean by diversity, equity and inclusion?

Diversity refers to the presence within a community of people with different backgrounds, identities, experiences and perspectives. These differences may relate to gender, gender identity, age, education, ethnicity, nationality, social or socioeconomic background, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, disability, professional role, career stage and other personal or social characteristics.

Equity refers to ensuring that everyone has fair access to opportunities for participation, professional growth and development. Achieving equity requires recognising that people may face different structural, institutional or practical barriers and that different forms of support may therefore be needed.

Inclusion refers to the practices, conditions and policies intended to enable people from all backgrounds to participate meaningfully and to feel welcomed, respected and valued. Inclusion involves identifying and reducing barriers related to characteristics such as age, ethnicity, skin colour, disability, physical condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, skills, experience and socioeconomic background.

These definitions have been adapted from resources published by Yes we are

 

What we do

The activities of the Working Group include:

  • identifying and discussing barriers that may limit participation in E-SWAN activities;

  • raising awareness of DE&I-related issues within the space weather and space climate community;

  • gathering experiences, concerns and suggestions from members of the community;

  • providing practical recommendations to E-SWAN bodies, committees and event organisers;

  • highlighting accessibility needs and proposing improvements for meetings, conferences, online activities, websites and communication materials;

  • collaborating with the European Space Weather Week Programme Committee, the Education and Outreach Committee and other relevant groups;

  • organising discussions, sessions and other activities related to DE&I;

  • contributing to the development and review of E-SWAN’s DE&I priorities and documents;

  • exchanging information, resources and good practices with DE&I groups in related organisations.

The Working Group does not consider DE&I to be a completed objective or a fixed set of measures. Its priorities may evolve in response to community feedback, available evidence, identified barriers and the resources available to the group.

 

Contribute to the Working Group

Input from E-SWAN members and the wider space weather and space climate community is welcome. This may include:

  • experiences of barriers to participation or accessibility;

  • suggestions for practical improvements;

  • relevant guidance, research or good practices;

  • proposals for discussions, events or collaborations;

  • feedback on the priorities and activities of the Working Group.

 

Chairs

  • Chair: Rungployphan Kieokaew (IRAP, France, Chair)
  • Co-Chair: Stijn Calders (BIRA–IASB, Belgium, Co-Chair)

 

Contact

  • Chairs: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Group: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Members

  • Stijn Calders (BIRA–IASB, Belgium)
  • Véronique Delouille (Royal Observatory of Belgium)
  • Maxime Grandin (Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finland)
  • Marianna Korsós (University of Sheffield, UK,
  • Rungployphan Kieokaew (IRAP, France)
  • Timothy Kodikara (DLR, German Aerospace Center)
  • Judit Palacios Hernandez (ESA, Germany)