Lessons from the Diversity Forum at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a non-profit scientific organization founded in 1915 that has been promoting ecological science through various activities, fostering interactions among scientists and stakeholders inside and outside academia. It has supported research, practice, and the professional development of ecologists for generations, becoming a central hub for ecological science through mentoring programs, annual conferences, scientific publishing, and political engagement. Despite its leadership role in ecological sciences, the ESA, like any other academic society, reflects broader socioeconomic inequalities.

Human societies are characterized by unequal access to resources and opportunities, where systemic barriers restrict access to education and better job prospects for some groups, perpetuating the status quo. In regions like the United States, where higher education can be prohibitively expensive, entire communities may lack the resources (financial or otherwise) to pursue advanced degrees. This disparity contributes to the underrepresentation of minorities and people with disabilities in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields (NCSES 2020). For instance, Black, Hispanic, and Native American individuals constitute a small percentage of STEM professionals relative to their representation in the U.S. population. In the 2010 Census, Black and Hispanic Americans comprised 12 % and 16% of the U.S. population, respectively, but composed only 0.3 % and 3% of the faculty in Biology (Li and Koedel 2017). Native Americans comprised 1.2% of the U.S. population in the 2012 Census, but they comprised 0.7% of the faculty at the top 50 Biology departments in the U.S. (Nelson and Madsen 2018). Similarly, individuals with disabilities encounter systemic barriers to pursuing or maintaining STEM careers, including limited accessibility in academia and industry (Hawley et al. 2013, Chun et al. 2024).

Academia has begun addressing these disparities by recognizing the systemic inequalities that have shaped it and promoting initiatives to improve Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in academia (DEIJ). While significant progress has been made in increasing the representation of white women and other groups in STEM fields (NCSES 2020), ethnic diversity is still severely underrepresented in them, especially in fields such as ecology and evolutionary biology (O'Brien et al. 2020). For example, ethnic diversity within ESA membership has increased from <5% in 1992 to 9% in 2015, and to 21% in 2024 (Lawrence et al. 1993a, Beck et al. 2014). However, these numbers still fall short of reflecting the ethnic diversity of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau 2021). Other strides in inclusivity include fostering accessibility for individuals with disabilities and creating safe environments for LGBTQIA+ individuals (Fair et al. 2024, Weissman et al. 2024), which have been rising in recent years.

Achieving representation in higher education and professional societies is only the first step toward DEIJ, as inequities persist in many forms in an individual's academic journey (Diele-Viegas et al. 2022b), such as gender-biased collaboration (Frances et al. 2020), parachute science (Baker et al. 2019, Soares et al. 2023), and peer-review biases (Cássia-Silva et al. 2023, Fox et al. 2023). ESA has been actively addressing these issues through initiatives like awards and fellowships that recognize its diverse membership, as well as sessions at its annual conference that tackle DEIJ topics. One prominent example is the Diversity Forum, organized annually since 2018 to celebrate DEIJ initiatives and elevate the voices of underrepresented communities in STEM. During the 2023 Diversity Forum, approximately 143 members shared their thoughts on what ESA has done well and areas needing further progress. Below, we present their insights, intertwined with our reflections.

The most frequently highlighted initiative at the Diversity Forum was SEEDS—Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity, and Sustainability. Established in 1996, this award-winning program provides undergraduate students opportunities to engage in ecological discovery, research, and practice across the U.S. Its activities include attending ESA annual meetings with pre- and post-meeting mentorship, participating in field trips, and developing transferable skills (Mourad et al. 2018). Approximately 70% of SEEDS alumni pursue environmental careers (Ahern-Dodson et al. 2020), demonstrating the program's success in fostering ecological identity through professional inclusion (Bowser and Cid 2021). Multiple participants praised SEEDS for its mentorship and community-building potential, underscoring that the program was important to them because it allowed them to see “(…) that there's so many ways you can reach your goals.”

Another noteworthy program mentioned was the ESA Excellence in Ecology (EEE) Scholarships, launched in 2021 to support early- and mid-career ecologists from historically marginalized communities. Although still in its early stages, the program aims to foster scholars who address socioecological challenges through inclusive research and mentoring practices (Cid et al. 2024). Some of us authoring this piece (BES, DI, KMB) are EEE scholars and can attest to how the program bolstered our sense of belonging in the North American ecological community and supported our participation in ESA meetings despite limited resources.

Forum participants also commended ESA's broader efforts to promote inclusivity. Examples include DEIJ-focused workshops and sessions (e.g., Martínez-Blancas et al. 2023, Estien et al. 2024, Provete et al. 2024), abstract fee waivers, and funding opportunities for attending activities. Only in terms of programming during the ESA annual meetings did DEIJ-focused activities go up from below 10 presentations in 2018 to almost 90 in 2023. Additionally, affinity groups, such as the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Section, Inclusive Ecology Section, Asian Ecology Section, Environmental Justice Section, Black Ecologist Section, Women in Soil Ecology Section, and the Latin American and Caribbean Chapter, provide spaces for underrepresented members to connect and advocate (Mello et al. 2021), with some groups holding seats on the governing board, which ultimately affect administrative decisions.

In addition to robust discussion around the successful ESA initiatives supporting DEIJ, the forum also discussed areas for growth for ESA to continue to build an inclusive environment for all. Considering that SEEDS has taken a prominent role in addressing the DEIJ issues within the ecological research and practice community by exposing undergraduate students to ecological careers and supporting their retention in the field, participants of the Diversity Forum addressed the necessity of having programs focused on children and teenagers. For example, Lawrence et al. (1993b) found that many ecologists were inspired to pursue the field after early field experiences. Programs like SEEDS could expand to include high school chapters, building on existing models that promote STEM interest among children and teenagers (Brand et al. 2014, Beattie et al. 2020, Diele-Viegas et al. 2022a).

Mentorship also emerged as a key theme, with participants noting the value of diverse networks and peer mentoring in the long-term success of ecologists from underrepresented backgrounds. There is a need for more formalized, year-round peer mentoring networks that elevate voices from diverse backgrounds (Deanna et al. 2022). This is initially tackled by programs like the EEE Scholars, but other opportunities are usually organized by members or sections/chapters to happen during the annual conference or throughout the year. While these grassroots, chapter-led initiatives are important, enhancing administrative support could amplify these efforts and create more consistent and equitable opportunities to support early-career scholars within the ESA community.

Members at the 2023 Diversity Forum also suggested that the annual conferences should better engage with the hosting cities, improve conference accessibility, and avoid scheduling DEIJ-related sessions at the same time. We suggest that enhancing the engagement with minority-serving institutions and environmental justice groups prior to and after the annual meeting can both engage a diverse local audience in ESA and provide them a platform to advance their educational or advocacy programs. The registration fees are often raised as one of the barriers to attending the annual meeting regularly. The registration fees are an important piece of the financial structure to maintain the annual meeting, and ESA already provides several pathways for funding attendance, but with limited effectiveness to support everyone that would like to attend. To tackle this issue, we recommend that local institutions apply for grants to fund registration fees and other associated costs in partnership with ESA or ESA members. Nonetheless, both solutions require continuous engagement from ESA membership to make those connections, considering the limited capacity of ESA's administrative structure to meet all those goals.

While accessibility was raised as an issue by attendees, there was a lack of clarity on what specific strategies to adopt or barriers to tackle. In recent years, ESA has implemented resources and policies to improve accessibility in the conferences, including allocated funding for caretakers, childcare programs during the conference, quiet rooms, captioning, and gender-inclusive bathrooms. All these resources are positive advances to enhance accessibility in the annual meeting developed in response to recent debates (Calisi et al. 2018, Chellappa 2022, Gregor et al. 2023, Carter et al. 2024), but there is potentially more for ESA to consider for responding to membership recommendations.

A frequent complaint was scheduling overlaps during the conference, particularly referring to those tackling education or diversity topics. While session overlap seems unavoidable in such a large conference (over 3,000 attendees in 2024 and 591 sessions), ESA has already been tackling this by allowing attendees to identify which sessions the organizers should avoid putting at the same time prior to the conference. Another step in this direction would be recording talks so they could be available to members and other attendees after the conference, which is already a practice in other societies, such as the meetings from the American Geophysical Union.

Finally, attendees underscored necessary efforts to include English as a Second Language (ESL) members. Language is one primary barrier for inclusivity in science, posing barriers to broad international participation in conferences, publishing, and collaboration (Higino et al. 2023, Fox et al. 2023, Amano and Berdejo-Espinola 2024). Recent ESA efforts to promote language diversity include the use of real-time subtitles produced by artificial intelligence to facilitate the presentation of speakers who are more comfortable in other languages (Fair et al. 2024). This pathway is currently being pursued by ESA for next annual meetings, but other strategies should also be pursued, such as a better integration of sections and chapters with the Latin American and the Caribbean Chapter. Better connecting ESA membership to researchers speaking a diverse range of languages is not solely a matter of inclusivity; it can drive scientific innovation, as seen in multilingual reviews (Amano et al. 2021, Zenni et al. 2023).

While the Ecological Society of America has made commendable strides toward advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice, significant challenges remain. For members from underrepresented identities to feel seen, valued, and heard, ESA must create robust pathways that address systemic inequities. Transparency in decision-making, particularly regarding finances and the consideration of members' input, is crucial for fostering trust and empowering greater member participation in building inclusive initiatives. It must also include institutional reforms, expanding partnerships with a more diverse range of communities and organizations, individual engagement, mobilizing resources to fund impactful programs, and evaluating which actions most effectively promote DEIJ. These efforts will always be shaped by the broader political and social climate, which influences equity-focused policies and funding.

Despite these obstacles, ESA has continually adapted to these challenges and demonstrated its commitment to inclusivity and equity, continuing to support its diverse membership. To achieve such a goal, the society needs its members, who must remain optimistic and persistent, collectively contributing to the society's mission. Together, we can navigate these complexities by upholding the values of inclusivity and equity, ensuring ESA continues to grow as a community where all ecologists can thrive and make meaningful contributions.

We declare no conflicts of interest.

We did not collect any data for this manuscript.