The field of evolutionary biology is at its best when all of its members are supported by positive, safe, and healthy work environments. To reinforce a healthy environment for all, the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) and the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) have worked together to develop Safe Evolution [1], a centralized campaign for our society membership to positively affect the climate at our conferences and positively impact all members in our field. Continue reading for a letter from SSE President Hopi Hoekstra with important information and links.
Dear Colleagues,
The field of evolutionary biology is at its best when all of its members are supported by positive, safe, and healthy work environments. To reinforce a healthy environment for all, the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) and the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) have worked together to develop Safe Evolution, a centralized campaign for our society membership to positively affect the climate at our conferences and positively impact all members in our field.
The Safe Evolution [2] efforts include the establishment of a code of conduct [3] and procedures [4] for the joint Evolution meetings, a confidential pipeline for reports and investigation of inappropriate behavior, training opportunities in harassment response and intervention, and community-oriented efforts to prevent incidents of harassment, discrimination, and violence, and to maintain the high quality of scientific discourse that we have come to expect from Evolution conferences.
We ask that you join us in making sure the Evolution meetings are a safe and welcoming environment for all! Please distribute the Safe Evolution link widely, and feel free to send to your department chair and your colleagues and ask that they distribute to their own units, discuss with your lab members or cohorts, and distribute to graduate students, post-docs, and faculty listservs. Please advertise as widely as possible!
https://www.evolutionmeetings.org/safe-evolution.html [5]
Improving the climate within our societies and at our meetings is an endeavor that needs the engagement and participation of all our members. If we all are aware of our policies, and have an open dialog about expectations of conduct in conference settings, we can all help improve the collective experience at our meetings, and contribute positively to the climate in STEM fields. Thank you all for your help, and we look forward to seeing everyone at upcoming meetings.
Sincerely,
Hopi Hoekstra
President of SSE