“Every astronomer in Canada needs to be aware of the evidence for systemic racism and discrimination in astronomy (and in science more generally), must listen to the experiences and concerns of the marginalized members of our community, and must take specific actions that remove barriers and increase support for those from underrepresented groups.”
— Canadian Astronomy Long Range Plan 2020
The resources collected below by the CASCA EIC Committee are intended as a starting point — there is so much excellent scholarship, research, and reflection available on these topics, we encourage you to explore and read widely.
If you have more ideas for resources to include, please share them with us! We will update this page periodically with new ideas, materials for teaching and learning, and potential actions to make ours a more inclusive, welcoming, and responsive community.
Canadian Astronomy Long Range Plan 2020 EDI-related Recommendations: R1, R35 – R48
EDI material from CASCA Annual General Meetings
2021 AGM:
- Bob Joseph: 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality
- Ninan Abraham: What have we been missing in racial equity in academia?
- Louise Edwards: The Granville Academy: Astrophysics toolbox + DEI together in one week
- Shantanu Basu: Multiracial Equity in Canadian Academia
CASCA Demographics and Surveys
- A new look at CASCA’s demographics (2019)
- The first CASCA climate survey (2018)
- Women in Canadian Astronomy: Fifteen Years of Hard Data (2007)
- Women in Canadian Astronomy: A Ten Year Survey (2004)
Domestic & International Organizations:
- Canadian Association of Physics Inaugural Demographics Survey: https://www.canphyscounts.ca/survey-data
- International Astronomical Union Springboard to Action: https://www.iau.org/static/publications/springboard-booklet-150dpi-2page-view.pdf
- American Astronomical Society Action Plan: https://aas.org/about/strategic-plan
- National Academy of Science Astro2020: https://nap.edu/resource/26141/interactive/
- Underrepresented and underpaid – Diversity and Equity Among Canada’s Post-Secondary Education Teachers by the Canadian Association of University Physics https://www.caut.ca/sites/default/files/caut_equity_report_2018-04final.pdf
- AstroBetter: Equal Opportunity Astronomy: Articles & Resource https://www.astrobetter.com/wiki/Diversity
- Particles for Justice: https://www.particlesforjustice.org/resources
- ShutdownSTEM: https://www.shutdownstem.com/resources
- Universities Canada: Canadian resources: https://www.univcan.ca/priorities/equity-diversity-inclusion/resources-from-canadian-and-international-organizations/
- Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA+): https://cfc-swc.gc.ca/gba-acs/index-en.html
- Dimensions Charter: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/NSERC-CRSNG/EDI-EDI/Dimensions-Charter_Dimensions-Charte_eng.asp
- Canada Research Chairs EDI requirements and best practices: https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/program-programme/equity-equite/index-eng.aspx
- David Rock, Heidi Grant: Why Diverse Teams are Smarter: https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter
Teaching and Educational Resources
- Resources from the American Physical Society 2021 Panel “Effecting Change: Individual Actions and Leadership”:
- The Access Network: https://accessnetwork.org
- AAAS Sea Change: https://seachange.aaas.org
- PhysPort: https://www.physport.org
- Effective Practices for Physics Program: https://ep3guide.org
- The Underrepresentation Curriculum Project: https://underrep.com
- Figures in the Sky https://figuresinthesky.visualcinnamon.com/
- McGill’s resources highlighting contemporary physicists in physics classroom teaching: https://classroom-physicists.physics.mcgill.ca/
Indigeneity in Canada:
- Indigenous Canada: https://www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada
- Aboriginal Worldviews and Education: https://www.coursera.org/learn/aboriginal-education
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports: http://nctr.ca/reports.php
- Wilfred Buck’s official website, includes links to educational resources, media & video: https://acakwuskwun.com/
Indigeneity in Astronomy/Science:
- Canadian Astronomy on Maunakea: On Respecting Indigenous Rights, Hilding R. Neilson, Samantha Lawler: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1910.03665.pdf
- National Academy of Science Astro2020 Decadal Review: Maunakea Perspectives https://figshare.com/collections/National_Academy_of_Science_Astro2020_Decadal_Review_Maunakea_Perspectives/4805619/4
- Indigenizing the next decade of astronomy in Canada, Hilding R. Neilson, Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, Samantha Lawler & Kristine Spekkens: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1910.02976.pdf
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465709-braiding-sweetgrass
- Aboriginal Astro: http://www.aboriginalastronomy.com.au/
- Astronomy and Colonization, Hilding R. Neilson: https://casca.ca/?p=14270
Racism and Systematic Bias in Physics/Academia:
- in postdoc hiring https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2019/06/racial-and-gender-biases-plague-postdoc-hiring
- in telescope time allocation https://arxiv.org/abs/1805.06508
- in tenure process https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425692.2012.674784
- in pay https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/gender-pay-gap-persists-at-canadian-universities-1.5739466
- Collaborating with people like me: ethnic co-authorship within the US, Richard B. Freeman, Wei Huang: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w19905/w19905.pdf
- Decolonizing Science Reading List, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein: https://medium.com/@chanda/decolonising-science-reading-list-339fb773d51f
- The Time Is Now: Systemic Changes to Increase African Americans with Bachelor’s Degrees in Physics and Astronomy: https://www.aip.org/sites/default/files/aipcorp/files/teamup-full-report.pdf
- TEAM-UP: https://www.aip.org/diversity-initiatives/team-up-task-force
- https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/boosting-the-representation-of-black-students-in-physics-and-astronomy
- A Different Kind of Dark Energy: Placing Race and Gender in Physics, Lauren Chambers https://www.stsci.edu/~lchambers/Chambers_ADifferentKindOfDarkEnergy.pdf
- Dismantling systemic racism in science, Esther A. Odekunle https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6505/780.3?
- Promoting inclusive metrics of success and impact to dismantle a discriminatory reward system in science, Davies SW et al https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001282
- The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities, Frances Henry et al. https://www.ubcpress.ca/the-equity-myth
- Astronomers May Not Like It but Astronomy and Colonialism Have a Shared History https://thewire.in/the-sciences/thirty-meter-telescope-native-hawaiians-mauna-kea-astronomy-colonialism
- Decolonizing Light: https://decolonizinglight.com/
- #BlackInAstro, KeShawn Ivory https://astrobites.org/2020/06/19/black-in-astro-keshawn-ivory/
- Black in Physics: https://www.blackinphysics.org/
- Equity in Science: Representation, Culture, and the Dynamics of Change in Graduate Education, Julie R. Posselt https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=31068
- How to mobilize and sustain EDI change in the academy, Arig Al Shaibah https://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/in-my-opinion/how-to-mobilize-and-sustain-edi-change-in-the-academy/
- Why Diversity And Inclusion Efforts Fail To Deliver And How To Change That, Nihar Chhaya https://www.forbes.com/sites/niharchhaya/2020/06/29/why-diversity-and-inclusion-efforts-fail-to-deliver-and-how-to-change-that/?sh=38b62ddf57be
- Anti-Racism: Why Your DEI Agenda Will Never Be A Success Without It, Carmen Morris: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carmenmorris/2020/12/15/anti-racism-why-your-dei-agenda-will-never-be-a-success-without-it/?sh=3e8bf89257ed
- Justice Is Not Some of Our Work but All of Our Work, Curtis Carmichael, https://www.queensu.ca/connect/equity/2019/04/24/justice-is-not-some-of-our-work-but-all-of-our-work/
Gender and sexuality in Physics/Academia:
- Gender diversity leads to better science: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1700616114
- Gender and sexual minorities in astronomy and planetary science face increased risks of harassment and assault, Christina R. Richey et al. https://baas.aas.org/pub/2019i0206/release/1
- Double jeopardy in astronomy and planetary science: Women of color face greater risks of gendered and racial harassment Kathryn B.H. Clancy et al: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2017JE005256
- Towards a Trans Inclusive Publishing Landscape, Theresa Jean Tanenbaum et al https://tesstanenbaum.medium.com/towards-a-trans-inclusive-publishing-landscape-893339b9868d
- Canadian Queers in Physics: www.canadianqueersinphysics.ca
Disability and Physics/Academia:
- Introducing the DAIS (Disabled for Accessibility In Space) Network https://astrobites.org/2021/05/27/intro-dais-disabled-for-accessibility-in-space-network/