SKAO’s EDI commitment

BY MATHIEU ISIDRO (EDIWG INTERIM CO-CHAIR)

On 16 June 2020, in a Statement on Racism and Discrimination in the wake of the global Black Lives Matter movement, the SKAO Director-General instructed the Observatory’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Working Group (EDIWG) to “look at practices and processes across the organisation and produce a plan on how we might enhance them to ensure that discrimination and bias in our workplace and recruitment processes are totally absent”.

The DG also challenged SKAO’s staff, our community and the members of the Board to identify any issues of inequality to ensure we can seek and retain diverse talent from all parts of society.

Following that call, the membership of the existing EDIWG was expanded to reflect our growing diversity and a new purpose set to define the EDI approach of the Observatory and enable the building of a culture that embraces EDI and reflects our diverse nature. The group was also tasked with identifying and delivering actions and making recommendations to the senior management.

The EDIWG conducted a staff survey on EDI topics, with over 200 individual inputs received. Research was also conducted, with participation in workshops, webinars, seminars and talks, including the joint organisation of a workshop on accessibility with the International Astronomical Union, the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory.

Building on this input, the EDIWG has now produced a draft EDI Action Plan for the SKAO across four key areas: Culture & Values, Leadership & Governance, Policies & Procedures, and Recruitment & Development. The 50-page document includes high-level recommendations and more specific guidance for the short, medium and long-term to address areas of interest such as ensuring improved accessibility, monitoring diversity data across the organisation, further strengthening recruitment practices and looking into development opportunities like fellowships, mentorship, etc. to support our diversity ambitions.

The document is now being reviewed by the SKAO’s Senior Leadership Team. Already, some actions are underway, with teams discussing how to improve web and software accessibility for example.