International Union of Crystallography

Gender Equity and Diversity Committee

The Gender Equity and Diversity Committee (GEDC) aims to address issues and establish new practices and policies to overcome inequity in the IUCr's processes.

Membership

  • B. Santarsiero (Chair, USA)
  • N. Alvarez (Uruguay)
  • C. Beavers (USA)
  • R. Chauhan (India)
  • S. Garcia-Granda (IUCr President, Spain)
  • A. Guerri (Italy) (Meeting Support Committee representative)
  • M. Maher (Australia)
  • H. Maynard-Casely (Vice-Chair, Australia)
  • M.C. Nonato (IUCr EC Member, Brazil)
  • E. Snell (USA)
  • S. Toma-Fukai (Japan)
  • M. Zema (Italy) (IUCr Executive Outreach Officer) 

Annual Reports 

Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science

The IUCr has joined other scientific unions and organisations affiliated to the International Science Council in signing a Memorandum of Understanding to join the Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science (SCGES). The IUCr's representative on the SCGES is ex officio the Chair of the GEDC, B. Santarsiero, with M.C. Nonato being the deputy.

IUCr GEDC Code of Conduct

Background

The International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) represents crystallographers worldwide and is committed to achieving gender equity and diversity (that mirrors our crystallography community) in all its endeavours and activities. A key aspect of the IUCr mission is to ensure our community fosters inclusion, ensures mutual respect, and embraces diversity. To help achieve its diversity goals, the IUCr has developed this code of conduct which applies to all its endorsed or funded activities.

Expectations of Professional Respectful Behaviour

IUCr members, committees, commissions, speakers, award recipients, and conference attendees will:

  • Exemplify the values of respect, integrity and collegiality.
  • Treat others with respect, dignity and courtesy at all times including on social media.
  • Foster a diverse and inclusive environment free from discrimination and harassment.
  • Uphold the reputation and standing of the IUCr.
  • Be aware of conscious and unconscious biases that affect who we tend to favour in our decision-making and actions (e.g. for nominations, selections, awards).
  • Maintain awareness of our own conduct and interaction with others when representing or participating in IUCr activities.
  • Maintain awareness of the conduct of others, and where such conduct violates the code of conduct and impacts negatively on others, intervene directly or alert relevant officials promptly (nominated local organising committee members for conferences, IUCr executive secretary and Gender Equity and Diversity Committee members for IUCr committees).

Unacceptable Behaviour

Harassment in any form, including advocating or encouraging harassing behaviour, will not be tolerated. IUCr members, committees, commissions and conference attendees will not tolerate bullying, intimidation, discrimination, sexual harassment, physical or verbal abuse, including at conference events, or in the workplace. 

Examples of unacceptable behaviour include, but are not limited to, overt or covert offensive acts, comments, signs, pranks, jokes (in person, in presentations, in publications, or online) related to gender, gender identity, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, colour, religion, pregnancy, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, marital status; deliberate intimidation, threatening, stalking or following; physical contact or violence; harassment including unwanted photography or recording; sustained disruption of discussions/talks/oral/poster sessions; drunk and disorderly conduct.

At IUCr conferences and sponsored events, a clear description of the reporting process should be provided on the external website, and at conference sessions, which should also outline the mechanisms that have been put in place and the individuals responsible for implementing the process.

Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. The following are examples of behaviour that, when unwelcome, may constitute sexual harassment: sexual flirtations, advances, or propositions; verbal comments or physical actions of a sexual nature; sexual language and imagery; sexually degrading words; inappropriate use of nudity or sexual images or objects in public spaces or in presentations; sexually explicit jokes; inappropriate or unwanted physical contact, unnecessary touching; unwelcome sexual attention. 

The IUCr will take seriously all reports of breaches of this code of conduct and treat all parties with respect and due process without presupposition of guilt. Complaints will be handled with sensitivity, discretion, and confidentiality to the extent allowed by the circumstances.  Notification of unacceptable behaviour can be made by contacting an IUCr staff member or conference official or by emailing your concern to the IUCr Executive secretary.

Consequences of Unacceptable Behaviour

  • Anyone requested to stop unacceptable behaviour is expected to comply immediately.
  • IUCr officials may take any action deemed necessary and appropriate, including issuing a warning, immediate removal from a meeting or conference (without refund), and/or reporting the behaviour to the individual’s employer, funding agencies and relevant authorities.
  • The IUCr reserves the right to prohibit those who contravene the code of conduct from attending future meetings and removing them from membership of partner societies.

IUCr Conference code of conduct

IUCr endorsed or funded schools, meetings or conferences are expected to post this or a similar code of conduct prominently on their webpage, along with a list of people who can be contacted by event participants should the participant experience harassment. 

This code of conduct was developed by the IUCr Gender Equity and Diversity Committee (GEDC) and was made with reference to Codes of Conduct developed by other societies and organisations (including the American Crystallographic Association, American Biophysical Society, American Geophysical Association and others). Any IUCr member who wishes to find out more about the code of conduct is encouraged to contact a member of the IUCr GEDC.

Download the IUCr GEDC Code of Conduct in pdf format

IUCr Gender Equity and Diversity Statement

The International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) represents crystallographers and their interests worldwide. Its objectives are to promote international cooperation in crystallography and to contribute to all aspects of crystallography, to promote international publication of crystallographic research, to facilitate standardization of methods, units, nomenclatures and symbols, and to be a focus for the relations of crystallography to other sciences.

The IUCr is committed to ensuring broad representation in all its objectives and to be a beacon for best practise in gender equity, diversity and inclusiveness in our membership, activities, events, programs, and services. The IUCr also seeks to remove obstacles to professional growth and advancement for minorities within our communities.

Women make up 50% of the world’s population yet are underrepresented in almost every aspect of leadership. For example, at the last five IUCr Congresses (2005-2017), women comprised about 35% of attendees, but only 17-28% of keynote speakers.

https://blogs.iucr.org/crystallites/2018/03/07/women-in-crystallography-we%E2%80%99re-not-just-historical/

Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls is a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal:

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Goal-5.pdf

Broader aspects of diversity include (but are not limited to) race, religion, geographic location, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation.

Achieving gender equity and diversity requires active input from individuals to support, embrace, and speak out about barriers. We encourage members to help us achieve our gender equity and diversity goals by monitoring committees, speakers and chairs to ensure they reflect the makeup of our community; by ensuring that panels charged with selecting awards and prizes are diverse and aware of their unconscious biases; by speaking out if a meeting you are at, committee you are a member of, or session you are part of, is not representative of the community; and by considering gender and diversity when nominating or recommending people for awards or speaking opportunities.

The IUCr urges all IUCr badged or supported conferences to establish a public and transparent conference speaker policy, and code of conduct, and appoint a gender equity and diversity advisor (see for example http://www.cristallografia.org/aicschool2019/eng/detail.asp?idn=3272.

The IUCr and its GEDC may be able to help identify possible advisors. They may be contacted at gedc@iucr.org

Download the IUCr Gender Equity and Diversity Statement in pdf format

IUCr GEDC Toolkit for Conference Inclusivity

The goals of this page is to provide meeting organisers guidelines that foster greater inclusivity. The resources aim to remove barriers which may deter or prevent marginalized groups in the community from attending or participating thereby resulting in a conference that is attended by all members of the community. The intention is that this is a ‘living document’, and the GEDC welcome any suggested additions or changes from the community.

We recommend that meeting organisers document how they plan to deliver on the commitments set out below and then report back after the conclusion of the conference. Here are a number of recommended steps.

Know the diversity of your community

A good first step is to recognize the diverse make-up of your community. This way you can ensure that all groups are being represented at your meeting.  There are a number of ways to gather this information: your local crystallographic society may have demographic information, or the World Directory of Crystallographers can be searched by geography, institution, or general interest area.

Conference Policy on representation

There should be a stated commitment by the conference organising committee to achieve representation of the entire community that is published before registration opens. This should be disseminated and upheld by all involved in organising sessions and inviting speakers. An example of such policies can be found at https://www.crystal33.org/conference-policy/ and http://ecm31.ecanews.org/en/speaker-policy-for-gender-balance.php.

Policy underpinned by a Code of Conduct

There should be a Code of Conduct that explicitly states the expectations on behaviour within the conference and where abuses can be reported in a safe and confidential manner. This is a requirement for IUCr sponsored events, and the code of conduct can be found on the GEDC webpage.

Statement on Accessibility

There should be consideration of how accessible the conference is for all groups. This may include consideration of the physical access and maneuverability around the venue for those that require special assistance to attend the conference in-person or via a virtual platform. It should be recognised that the advent of virtual or hybrid conferences has resulted in improved accessibility for minority groups (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00823-2) and that hybrid options should be adopted where appropriate and affordable. Are there asynchronous options?

Additionally, meeting organisers could specifically consider the following:

  • Have attendees been provided a contact to discuss any additional assistance required?
  • How accessible is the venue to those with disabilities?
  • Are there any special considerations that need to be made for a sector of your community?

Provision of Funding for Accessibility Needs

Where possible, consideration should be given in conference budgets for grants to increase participation from parents of young children and for any needs flagged by those requiring special assistance in attending the conference. Can daycare resources be provided at a reduced cost at the venue?

Networking and discussion on diversity issues

Diversity representation is everybody’s business. The program schedule should include time for discussion of equity and diversity issues, including any update on progress, achievements, and approach. This may be in the form of a workshop session, or if appropriate through abstract submissions. Where identified, provide networking session or reception for those advocating for a particular minority representation or affinity group.

Collect and Report the Data

The key to tracking and understanding equity and diversity issues is to see if policy goals are being achieved through the collection and reporting of data. A continued commitment to reporting the data, supported by the sponsor organisation, will enable long-term trends and improvements to be monitored. It is recommended that a survey, preferably online and anonymous, be available for all attendees which can assist in the understanding of your community’s diversity.

Download the IUCr GEDC Toolkit for Conference Inclusivity in pdf format