Very well said Frank. And if the meeting really needs (why?) that regular dude to appear, they can give a 20 min intro (same slides as last year, no doubt) and share the lectern with a student / postdoc who presents the new science.
Marko On 24 Jul 2020, 07:17, at 07:17, Frank von Delft <frank.vonde...@sgc.ox.ac.uk> wrote: >Thanks Stephen for reminding me there's a point no-one raised at the >time: > >There are two sets of people that have agency in this: 1) the >organisers, and 2) the ones that get the invites. > >Group 1 already have a tough job: organising a meeting is a pile of >work - so go easy on them. (Or organise one yourself, and have fun.) > > >It's Group 2 that is by far the largest and most powerful: we who are >in it really do not need to accept /every/ /single /invitation; it is >not only in our power but also our duty (on many levels) to send group >members or collaborators instead - even just occasionally can already >make a difference. > >And then suddenly we discover all these female and minority and other >under-priviledged speakers that lie in our gift to advance - and even >better, we get to do some mentoring while we're at it, not least to >teach that most insidious skill that we the priviledged were handed for > >free, namely how to wear our priviledge lightly by taking it for >granted. > >(I cannot of course claim this insight as my own, or even claim to be >particularly consistent at it - so I must thank group members and >colleagues and spouses for making the penny eventually drop by holding >my toes to the fire.) > > >But yes, organisers: you /can/ ask your invitees to help you, by >reminding them that you're not in fact interested /in //them as >speakers, /just in having their work presented at your meeting -- so >could they please suggest someone suitable. > >phx. > > > > > > > > > > > > > >On 23/07/2020 10:21, Stephen Curry wrote: >> It has been on my mind to respond to this thread since I was made >aware of it in late February. Not because I regard myself as any sort >of sage on these matters, but because I received a phone call from >someone asking me to speak out. This person did not want to give her >name and or to go into specific details, but it was clear that the >issue matters a great deal to her. Unfortunately, she called while I >was in the midst of trying to do three other things, so I did not give >our discussion all the attention it deserved and that is a matter of >some regret. I hope I can make some small amends by contributing here. >> First off, I make no pretence at expertise. And nor am I going to >pick up on individual comments, I just want to make some general >observations and suggestions. >> >> It is good to see this discussion happening within the CCP4 community >and to see so many people engage. The question of female representation >in academic workshops and conferences is a live one and one where we as >a community must do better. This is not simply a matter of suggesting >that more women should step forward to volunteer their services. And >nor would I suggest having women-only events, except perhaps as a >provocative experiment to give those of us in the majority (i.e. white >men) a little taste of what it feels like to be excluded. >> >> To my mind the key here is to recognise the systemic biases and >accept that we all have a responsibility to fix the system. We can’t >simply leave ‘solving the problem’ to those in the under-represented >groups (whether they be women, people of colour, disabled people etc). >It is tiring for women (and other minoritized groups) to keep having to >point out what is wrong; that burden in itself is part of the >structural bias. And nor should we ignore or silence their concerns >because we have not seen or experienced them ourselves. >> >> Listening has to be a central part of the process, or ‘people talking >to people’ as Atul Gawande puts it in an insightful piece about how to >get people to see things from a different perspective >(https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/slow-ideas). This isn’t >always going to be easy, but if we are really committed to including >all people of talent within the scientific community and enjoy the >intellectual fruits (and justice…) of diversity, we need to be prepared >for what Margaret Heffernan (another of my favourites) might call >‘creative conflict’ >(https://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_heffernan_dare_to_disagree?language=en). >> >> Of course, tools and processes will also help. I agree with those who >suggest that we should be proactive about seeking out women and other >under-represented folks when looking for workshop tutors or conference >speakers (or new people to hire). To that end, at Imperial we have >introduce a new conference policy (which others are free to copy – that >is in part how we constructed it ourselves - >https://www.imperial.ac.uk/equality/governance/policies/conference-policy/). >This sets out not only a code of conduct but also guidance on how to >ensure better representation among speakers and panellists at workshops >and conferences. Those of us in the majority who are accustomed to >receiving invitations to speak have a crucial role to play here in >testing the organisers’ commitment to diversity. I have a personal >policy of not appearing on all-male panels or line-ups of speakers. I >am now also trying to apply that to promote other aspects of diversity. >> >> I could go on. The problem of gender inequality is long-standing. >Progress has been made but only slowly. The Athena SWAN charter rightly >has its critics in the UK, but it is starting to move the numbers (in >those depts and institutions where engagement is strongest), and it has >normalised the discussion. One further suggestion from the thread that >I would support is inserting discussions about the issues of equality >and diversity within regular academic conferences; if you have a >dedicated meeting, usually only the converted show up. Better to ambush >the unwary. >> >> With best wishes, >> >> Stephen >> >> ____________________________________________________________ >> Stephen Curry PhD >> Assistant Provost (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion) >> Professor of Structural Biology >> Department of Life Sciences, Room 404A, Sir Ernst Chain Building >> Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK >> >> ____________________________________________________________ >> >> >######################################################################## >> >> To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: >> https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 >> >> This message was issued to members of www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CCP4BB, a >mailing list hosted by www.jiscmail.ac.uk, terms & conditions are >available at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ > > >######################################################################## > >To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: >https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 > >This message was issued to members of www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CCP4BB, a >mailing list hosted by www.jiscmail.ac.uk, terms & conditions are >available at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB&A=1 This message was issued to members of www.jiscmail.ac.uk/CCP4BB, a mailing list hosted by www.jiscmail.ac.uk, terms & conditions are available at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/
