QRA statement on equality, diversity and inclusion
The Quaternary Research Association is committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for all of those within our community. We recognise that we are part of a discipline that is making progress on gender equality but still has to address other inequalities, for example in terms of race and ethnicity. We need to do more to embed this at the heart of everything the QRA does to forge a more socially representative community – across age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, and socio-economic background.
To this end, over the next five years (2022-2027), we will:
- Convene a sub-committee specifically looking at diversity and inclusion issues within the QRA and keeping abreast of relevant research and policies in this area.
- Monitor the diversity of attendees at QRA events and included in QRA publications to help identify any systemic issues and barriers to participation, which may prevent people from fully participating in our community.
- Work to better embed equality, diversity and inclusion into QRA policies, processes and governance – including codes of conducts for conferences and field meetings and considering how diversity maps onto how we award our prizes and awards
- Consider how to make fieldwork more inclusive – both field meetings and independent fieldwork, particularly when undertaken in developing nations and in collaboration with local researchers.
- Discuss how we can work towards better consideration of colonial and post-colonial issues in research (for example, the recognition and/or incorporation of indigenous groups as stakeholders in archaeological projects).
- Work together with other related organisations to increase the reach of this work.
- Work towards any culture change that is identified as being necessary within the QRA.
Additional resources:
Ali et al. (2021): ‘An actionable anti-racism plan for geoscience organisations’
Colaninno et al. (2020): ‘Creating and Supporting a Harassment- and Assault-Free Field School’
Greene et al. (preprint) ‘Safety and Belonging in the Field: A Checklist for Educators’
Viles and Tooth (2020) ‘Equality, diversity, inclusion: ensuring a resilient future for geomorphology
This policy statement was drafted by the EDI Working Group and presented to the QRA AGM in January 2022. This was followed by a consultation period with the full membership. The final version was approved by the Executive Committee in May 2022.