Diversifying the Ocean Sciences: Thoughts on the Challenge Ahead

Abstract

The lack of diversity in the ocean sciences is not a particularly big secret or a recent issue. In his inaugural column in 2000 for The Oceanography Classroom, Dean McManus wrote: “A particular challenge for higher education is to include more members of underrepresented groups in the study of the ocean. Fifteen years from now, 40% of the traditional undergraduate-age population will consist of these underrepresented groups, but today the ocean sciences have the lowest participation by underrepresented groups of any science.” Despite this prescient statement from McManus, little progress has been made in diversifying the ranks of the ocean sciences. In a recent National Science Foundation survey of current graduate students in the ocean sciences, approximately 8.8% of those surveyed identify as coming from a group that is considered part of a minority community in the United States (Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Native Alaskan, Native American, Pacific Islander). As might be expected, these numbers are even worse for the professional ranks of agencies, nonprofits, and university programs that focus on the ocean sciences. The lack of these communities’ representation in ocean science careers is underscored by the past year’s news reports, brimming as they have been with the brutality and injustices that those in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities face daily. The STEM community, including the ocean sciences, is now, more than ever, being forced to confront the ways in which its institutions and culture contribute to the inequities facing BIPOC communities. Here, I draw upon my dual identity as a member of the ocean science and Latinx communities to discuss how the ocean sciences can enact meaningful changes around improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).