Guides: EDI & Research : Home

Working towards Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The library has collaborated with the Research Services Office to bring together resources to help acquaint researchers with some of the key readings on EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) in research. These articles have been drawn from across many academic fields, and include articles, books, blog posts, government resources, and more. Use this guide as your starting point for working towards a more equitable and inclusive research enterprise at U of G.

There are 4 major topics covered in this guide:

Dispelling EDI Myths: Systemic Barriers in Academia
Building a diverse research team
Building an inclusive team culture
Inclusive Research Design

To learn more about EDI and research at U of G, see the “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Research” webpage from the Research Services Office.

Dispelling EDI Myths: Systematic Barriers in Academia

The Myth of Meritocracy

Adams. (March 16, 2022). “‘Pervasive’ Inequality Derailing Black UK Chemists’ Careers, Report Finds.” The Guardian. [NEWS ARTICLE]
The Royal Society of Chemistry finds that Black and minority ethnic chemists were paid less and were less likely to get research funding; there is currently only one Black professor of chemistry out of the 575 chemistry professors working in UK universities today.
Canadian Association of University Teachers. (2018). Underrepresented and Underpaid: Diversity & Equity Among Canada's Post-Secondary Education Teachers. [REPORT]
A 2018 report from CAUT finds that underrepresentation and significant wage gaps for gendered and racialized academic staff are major issues in Canadian academic institutions.
Cech & Waidzunas. (2021). “Systemic Inequalities for LGBTQ Professionals in STEM.” Science Advances. [JOURNAL ARTICLE]
This article finds that LGBTQ STEM professionals were more likely to experience career limitations, harassment, and professional devaluation than their non-LGBTQ peers.
Henry et al. (2017). The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities. UBC Press. [BOOK]
Provides comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of the experiences of minoritized faculty in Canadian universities.
Ibrahim et al. (2022). Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian Academy: Teaching, Learning, and Researching While Black. University of Toronto Press. [BOOK]
“Operating at the intersections of discourse and experience, contributors reflect on how Blackness shapes academic pathways, ignites complicated and often difficult conversations, and reimagines Black pasts, presents, and futures.” [quoted from the publisher]

The Myth of Objectivity in Research

“Responses to 10 Common Criticisms of Anti-Racism Action in STEM.” Anti-Racism in STEM. [BLOG POST]
“While the scientific method is impartial, the scientific enterprise is subject to individual biases and societal values; there is a large body of evidence demonstrating that racism, particularly anti-Black racism, is prevalent within the scientific enterprise.”
Saini. (March 9, 2020). “Want To Do Better Science? Admit You’re Not Objective.” Nature. [OPINION ARTICLE]
“In failing to recognize that science can be political, the scientific community allows the resurrection of dangerous ideas. Acting as if theories — especially those about humans — exist in cultural or political vacuums is a ridiculous fallacy.” (pp. 175)
Smith. (2019). “Diversity is Indispensable to Excellence: The Canada Research Chairs Program.” The Conversation. [NEWS ARTICLE]
“There have been many hard lessons about what happens when scholars ignore diversity in the composition of research teams and in their research approach.”
Witteman et al. (2019). “Are Gender Gaps Due to Evaluations of the Applicant or the Science? A Natural Experiment at a National Funding Agency.” The Lancet. [JOURNAL ARTICLE]
“This study from CIHR [the Canadian Institutes of Health Research] found that gender gaps in grant funding are attributable to less favourable assessments of women as principal investigators, not of the quality of their proposed research.”

The Diversity-as-Deficit Myth

Gewin. (2018). “Why Diversity Helps to Produce Stronger Research.” Nature. [NEWS ARTICLE]
“Gender diversity in the research environment can drive scientific discovery, and spark the most innovative endeavours, say researchers.”
Phillips. (2014). “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter.” Scientific American. [NEWS ARTICLE]
“Being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, more diligent, and harder working.”
“The Business Case for Gender Diversity.” (2018). Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science & Technology. [INFOGRAPHIC]
“Gender diversity is linked to employee satisfaction, improved governance, and innovation. It is also associated with financial benefits, including a positive impact on firm value.”
Yang et al. (2022). “Gender-Diverse Teams Produce More Novel and Higher-Impact Scientific Ideas.” Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences. [JOURNAL ARTICLE]
Reports on study which found that mixed-gender research teams are underrepresented in science, and yet are more likely to produce novel and highly cited research than are same-gender teams.

Building a diverse research team

The Hiring Process

Canada Research Chairs. (2021). Creating an Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive Research Environment: A Best Practices Guide for Recruitment, Hiring and Retention. [GUIDELINES]
CRC’s guidelines for integrating EDI principles into faculty hiring practices. Includes a practical step-by-step guide through each phase of the recruitment process.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee & Mental Health and Wellness Committee. (2020). Promoting Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Wellness in Faculty Hiring. Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph. [GUIDESLINES]
From U of G’s Department of Integrative Biology, this set of guidelines provides clear, actionable steps in improving equity for all candidates in the faculty hiring processes.
Sensoy & DiAngelo. (2017). “‘We Are All for Diversity, but…’: How Faculty Hiring Committees Reproduce Whiteness and Practical Suggestions for How They Can Change” Harvard Educational Review. [JOURNAL ARTICLE]
Argues that hiring committees can be instrumental in either increasing diversity or maintaining the status quo.

Unconscious Bias

Reiners. “16 Unconscious Bias Examples and How to Avoid Them in the Workplace.” Built In. [BLOG POST]
Breaks down the many ways in which unconscious bias can present itself throughout the workplace hiring process.
Smith et al. (2017). “A Dirty Dozen: Unconscious Race and Gender Biases in the Academy.” In Henry et al, The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities. UBC Press. [BOOK CHAPTER]
“Individually and collectively, [unconscious or implicit biases] limit entry into the academy and stall progress through the ranks, as well as fuel “leaky pipelines” from which some scholars exit or are forced out. It aims to make visible their inequitable implications for racialized minorities and women at speciﬁc moments in their academic careers as well as the pattern of unfairness that is cumulative over the span of a career.” (p.263)

Building an inclusive team culture

Microaggressions

Harrison & Tanner. (2020). “Language Matters: Considering Microaggressions in Science.” CBE – Life Sciences Education. [JOURNAL ARTICLE]
This article provides an exploration of microaggressions in the classroom or lab and demonstrates how microaggressive language can have a negative impact on the experiences, persistence, and success of all students in higher education, especially those from underrepresented groups.
Jana & Baran. (2020). "Subtle Acts of Exclusion: How to Understand, Identify, and Stop Microaggressions. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. [BOOK]
“Our workplaces and society are growing more diverse, but are we supporting inclusive cultures? While overt racism, sexism, ableism, and other forms of discrimination are relatively easy to spot, we cannot neglect the subtler everyday actions that normalize exclusion.” [quoted from the publisher]
Mohamed & Beagan. (2019). “‘Strange Faces’ in the Academy: Experiences of Racialized and Indigenous Faculty in Canadian Universities.” Race, Ethnicity and Education. [JOURNAL ARTICLE]
Draws on interviews with racialized and Indigenous academics at Canadian universities to examine experiences of both everyday racism – the subtle, almost intangible micro-level interactions that convey messages of not fully belonging – and of overt racism and colonialism.

Anti-Oppression

Dukes & Dominguez. (2020). “Becoming anti-racist: Being a better advisor, lab mate, and friend to Black colleagues.”. [PRESENTATION SLIDES]
Linked from https://antiracisminstem.wordpress.com/
What is the impact of racism on Black scholars and scientists? How can non-Black allies become anti-racist in their practice? This presentation offers an introduction to anti-Black racism in the academy and how it can be dismantled.
Flaherty. (January 5, 2022). “‘Illusion Of Inclusion’: Faculty Satisfaction Data Reveal Big Gaps Between How White and Nonwhite Professors Experience Campus Diversity and Inclusion Efforts.” Inside Higher Ed. [NEWS ARTICLE]
The article reports on findings from a faculty perceptions survey that reveals wide gaps in how faculty of different racial and ethnic backgrounds perceive progress in diversity and inclusion on college campuses compared to their white colleagues.
Okun, T. (2023). "White Supremacy Culture." [WEBSITE]
White supremacy operates in our culture, and not just in the form of overtly racist groups. The White Supremacy Culture website is a foundational resource for identifying and dismantling the various manifestations of white supremacy that show up in our organizational cultures. Many of its forms are immediately recognizable in academia (i.e., "Individualism" or "Worship of the Written Word"). How can we begin to tackle white supremacy culture in our own workplaces or research teams?
Pattani et al. (2022). “Effect of Race, Gender Identity, and Their Intersection on Career Satisfaction: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Academic Physicians.” Medical Teacher. [JOURNAL ARTICLE]
Research undertaken at the University of Toronto demonstrated that female academic physicians from underrepresented minorities had lower career satisfaction largely explained by systematic differences in workplace experiences compared to their male counterparts. This article concludes that universities should seek to build, “inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive cultures to support the flourishing of all faculty.”

Practicing Conscious Inclusion

Dewsbury and Seidel. (2020). Reflections and actions for creating an inclusive research environment. Current Protocols Essential Laboratory Techniques. [GUIDELINES]
Offers a roadmap for the personal and organizational changes that STEM researchers can undertake to create a safer and more equitable lab environment for students from underrepresented minority groups.
Haine-Bennett et al. (2020). “Enacting Workplace Culture Change for Excellence in Research: A Gender Lens”. FACETS. [JOURNAL ARTICLE]
“The drivers of attrition of female participation in science and engineering relate to the inclusivity, or lack thereof, of workplace culture: the impacts of institutional policies and practices, interpersonal interactions, and peoples’ own individual attitudes, beliefs, and biases… Efforts to change a culture require attention to all three.”

Inclusive Research Design

Gender-Based Analysis (GBA+) and Intersectionality

“Gender-Based Analysis Plus Research Guide.” Women and Gender Equality, Government of Canada. [RESEARCH GUIDE]
A primer on GBA+, it’s role in public policy and research, and how to mobilize gender- and diversity-sensitive approaches in your research.
Sex and Gender Training Modules (Canadian Institute for Health Research – Institute on Gender and Health). [LEARNING MODULE]
Learn about how sex and gender can be integrated into health research. There are dedicated training modules for researchers working in basic science, clinical research, or biostatistical analysis.
Sisson Runyan. (2018). “What Is Intersectionality and Why Is It Important?” Academe: The Magazine of the American Association of University Professors. [OPINION ARTICLE]
Published in a special issue on “gender on campus,” this article provides a helpful overview of intersectionality’s history in scholarship, and its research applications today.

What has gender-based research discovered?

Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women. Research Projects. [WEBSITE]
Learn how intersectional analysis can shed light on the gendered implications of various research topics from transportation infrastructure to immigration policies to climate change.
May 18, 2022. “Nature journals raise the bar on sex and gender reporting in research.” Nature. (p. 396) [EDITORIAL]
“[F]rom now on, researchers who submit papers to a subset of Nature Portfolio journals will be prompted to state whether and how sex and gender were considered in their study design, or to indicate that no sex and gender analyses were carried out and clarify why.”
Mollayeva et al. (2018). “Traumatic Brain Injury: Sex, Gender and Intersecting Vulnerabilities.” Nature Reviews Neurology. [JOURNAL ARTICLE]
This article, from the University of Toronto, is an example of intersectionality used in brain research. “The effects of biological sex, as well as gender… are underappreciated in traumatic brain injury (TBI) research and practice.”
Schiebinger et al (Eds). (2020). “Gendered Innovations in Science, Health & Medicine, Engineering, and Environment.” Stanford University. [WEBSITE]
This website provides STEM, medical, and environmental researchers with practical methods of sex, gender, and intersectional analysis within their fields, and case studies of how these methods leads to better research.

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