About EIJC

The Equity and Inclusion Journal Club (EIJC) USUALLY meets on a weekly basis in the spring to discuss issues of equity and inclusion in science. During these unprecedented times we have started Summer and Fall sessions. The EIJC takes as its stance that the practice and culture of science are not immune to the widespread inequality in society as a whole. The underrepresentation of people of color (e.g., blacks, Latinx, Indigenous Americans) and women in STEM fields at all academic/research levels—from science majors, to graduate students, to postdoctoral researchers, to scientists, to faculty—is a long-standing and well-documented problem. It is a problem rooted in the structural racism and sexism embedded in every sector of society (e.g., education, health care, housing, employment). In seeking to create a more equitable scientific community at Harvard and the CfA, the EIJC aims to foster honest discussions about the historical, systematic, and structural nature of inequality.

The objectives of the EIJC include the following:

  1. To open a dialog among students, educators, scholars, and researchers, and those whose work enables them to pursue scientific research, about the causes of the dearth of diversity in academic and professional science.
  2. To help participants understand how the special challenges experienced by the underrepresented student/scholar can affect their learning in the classroom and their research.
  3. To seek solutions that can be implemented at Harvard and the CfA to make the scientific community more equitable.

On this website, you will find resources—including articles and presentations—that have been compiled by the organizers and participants of the EIJC. The EIJC is open to all Harvard Departments and the CfA and welcomes feedback from the community.

History and Organization

The EIJC was founded by Nia Imaraexternal link in 2018 and was originally co-organized with Anna Pancoastexternal link.  Organizers for the following years are as follows:

The original website was designed by Philip Rosenfield.  The Harvard Initiative for Teaching and Learning (HILTexternal link) sponsored the first EIJC in 2018.  We are grateful to the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonianexternal link for sponsoring the EIJC since 2019.