Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in Math
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Statement
Mathematics is a human activity. We believe that the key to preparing our students to be productive, engaged, and socially responsible citizen leaders of a global society is embracing and celebrating our different experiences, cultures and perspectives. We embrace the following axioms as expressed by Federico Ardila:
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Axiom 1: Mathematical talent is distributed equally among different groups, irrespective of geographic, demographic, and economic boundaries.
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Axiom 2: Everyone can have joyful, meaningful, and empowering mathematical experiences.
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Axiom 3: Mathematics is a powerful, malleable tool that can be shaped and used differently by various communities to serve their needs.
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Axiom 4: Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
Historically, mathematics has flourished in diverse communities. The Mathematics Department recognizes that Black, Indigenous, and Latinx/Hispanic people, women, and individuals who have disabilities have been historically excluded from mathematics in the United States and are vastly underrepresented in the field. In addition, racism broadly and negatively affects people of color, and bigotry negatively impacts LGBTQIA+ individuals (MAA Guideline Statement 6). We further acknowledge that while some of the challenges of underrepresentation in mathematics departments are similar among the various groups, each group also faces unique challenges, and there is a complex intersectionality among people鈥檚 identities.
The Mathematics Department at 麻豆传媒团队 believes that diversity enhances the academic and life experience for every student. We understand that having varied perspectives helps generate better ideas to solve complex problems of a changing and increasingly diverse world.
The Mathematics Department therefore commits to the following:
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To implement and celebrate an equitable, inclusive, and student centered environment supportive of diversity, where all members of the community, including students, staff, and faculty, feel safe, feel they belong, and feel respected in order to engage, learn and contribute to their fullest potential.
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To educate ourselves about racism and other systemic prejudices, promote involvement in activities that combat them, and become allies to protected groups to which we do not personally belong.
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To identify and implement processes that actively address racism, discrimination, and exclusion by removing biased barriers to success.
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To recruit and retain outstanding faculty, staff, and students with personal experiences and worldviews from a variety of cultures and life circumstances, and, more importantly, to commit to their success.
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To serve as role models, to mentor, and to provide opportunities outside the classroom to students from underrepresented groups and at-risk students (who may not realize their potential).
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To hold our faculty, staff, and students accountable for their actions with respect to these initiatives that promote inclusion and equity for all students, staff, and faculty.
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To demonstrate we are unwavering in our dedication to achieve diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging through continual reevaluation, reflection, and feedback.
*Diversity refers to the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that originate from differences of culture and circumstance. These differences include, but are not limited to race, ethnicity, age, religious belief, language, geographic background, national origin, immigration status, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, sex and gender (gender identity, gender expression, etc.), abilities and disabilities, physical characteristics, veteran status, or political ideology.
Equity refers to the fair and respectful treatment of all people. Equity is an approach that ensures everyone has access to the same opportunities and recognizes that advantages and barriers exist. Equity is a process that begins by acknowledging unequal starting places and makes a commitment to correct and address the imbalance.
Inclusion and Belonging are about people with different identities feeling and being valued, connected to, and welcomed within our department.
Justice means that we dismantle barriers to resources and opportunities in society so that all individuals can be their fullest selves and productive mathematics citizens.
- References
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Directly used:
/diversity-equity/our-commitment-diversity-equity-and-inclusion
Other references (not directly used):
AMS
AWM
NCTM
SIAM
MAA
- Resources
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The overarching goal of the Workshop on Mathematics and Racial Justice is to explore the role that mathematics plays in today鈥檚 movement for racial justice. For the purposes of this workshop, racial justice is the result of intentional, active, and sustained anti-racist practices that identify and dismantle racist structures and policies that operate to oppress, disenfranchise, harm, and devalue Black people. This workshop will bring together mathematicians, statisticians, computer scientists, and STEM educators as well as members of the general public interested in using the tools of these disciplines to critically examine and eradicate racial disparities in society. Researchers with expertise or interest in problems at the intersection of mathematics, statistics, and racial justice are encouraged to participate. This workshop will take place over two weeks and will include sessions on Bias in Algorithms and Technology; Fair Division, Allocation, and Representation; Public Health Disparities; and Racial Inequities in Mathematics Education.