Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research: Team Composition

Introduction

Diversity strengthens the quality and impact of research by bringing multiple ideas and perspectives to a team.

Diversity does not happen organically. Be intentional in diversifying your team. Whether you are recruiting and selecting co-investigators, trainees or research personnel, identify barriers experienced by historically excluded groups and work towards dismantling them.

Key Considerations

To increase diversity in team composition

Actively recruit excellent and diverse research team members and trainees
Create transparent and consistent evaluation/selection processes that mitigate the potential impacts of bias in recruitment

Guidelines and Practices

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Research Teams and Training: Promising Practices and Resources Handbook – Recruitment of Team Members and Trainees

University of Toronto, Office of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation (May 2024)

Users must log in with UTORid credentials

This University of Toronto handbook provides examples of practices to embed equity throughout the recruitment and selection process of team members and trainees. Key action items:

Being intentional in seeking out a diversity of team members
Recruiting team members who have demonstrated experience in EDI leadership or initiatives
Openly posting opportunities to attract a broad and diverse pool of applicants
Using consistent selection criteria and processes
Adopting an inclusive definition of research excellence.

Incorporating EDI Considerations for Research Teams in NSERC Applications

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

Section 2 of the NSERC Guide on Integrating Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Considerations in Research assists natural sciences and engineering researchers to consider how EDI is relevant to building teams. The goal is to encourage greater reflection on how research and teams could be strengthened by taking steps to create an equitable and inclusive environment with diverse team members. Key action items:

When building a research team, learn about the current state of diversity in the discipline, department and institution, help identify and mitigate potential barriers and biases
Consider whether the people potentially most impacted by the research can be included to co-develop the research
Other steps include familiarizing yourself with your institution’s EDI guidelines or policies
Creating a process that mitigates potential bias in recruitment
Asking all members of the selection committee to complete EDI/bias training
Promoting decision-making by more than one person to ensure a transparent process
And ensuring assessment processes consider broad markers of excellence.

Best Practices in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research Practice and Design – EDI in Research Practice (Research Team and Research Environment)

New Frontiers Research Fund (NFRF)

This guide helps support New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) applicants and reviewers, in achieving greater equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in their research practice and design. The section on Team Composition and Recruitment Processes suggests best practices that could be implemented to address systemic barriers related to team composition and recruitment. Key action items:

Commit to developing your knowledge of systemic barriers, carefully consider what role you play as a research leader to help identify and mitigate racism, sexism, homophobia and ableism within your research and research teams
Provide training for team members to ensure they understand why EDI in research is important
During recruitment, create a selection committee and a process that prevents potential bias
Use the same assessment process for all candidates, and ensure it is equitable
Actively challenge the notion of rewarding the familiar, such as traditional, westernized approaches to research and consider whether the interview questions allow candidates to speak to different ways of knowing, methods and/or experiences.

Guide to Addressing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Considerations in Partnership Grant Applications – EDI in Research Practice

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s Guide to Addressing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Considerations in Partnership Grant Applications provides examples of EDI in research practice related to team composition and recruitment of trainees. Key action items:

Grant applicants must identify concrete practices that will be used to ensure that EDI is being intentionally and proactively considered in putting together the team and recruiting team members
Commit to develop your knowledge of EDI
Learn about the current state of diversity in your discipline(s)
Involve an EDI officer from the institution in each stage of the recruitment process
Establish a policy/procedure to ensure that career leaves and interruptions are fairly considered in recruitment and selection processes.

Creating an Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive Research Environment: A Best Practices Guide for Recruitment, Hiring and Retention

Canada Research Chairs Program

Sections A to F of this guide discuss recruitment and retention action items to put in place the right conditions for everyone to reach their full potential, unimpeded by inequitable practices. Key action items:

Job Postings

Ensure an EDI expert reviews and approves the job posting
Post all job postings publicly
Use encompassing, clear, flexible criteria for assessing excellence
Strongly encourage language that focuses on abilities over experience.

Search for Candidates

Mandate proactive, strategic outreach to attract members of underrepresented groups
Keep track of promising students and postdoctoral researchers as they progress through their career to make them aware of employment opportunities.

Hiring Committee

Compile a diverse search committee, including a faculty member with EDI expertise
Provide mandatory EDI training for all committee members
Identify potential biases, stereotypes and micro-aggressions revealed during discussions, and support the committee members as they work through them.

Evidence-Based Strategies for Improving Diversity and Inclusion in Undergraduate Research Labs

Ahmad, A. S., Sabat, I., Trump-Steele, R., & King, E. (2019). Evidence-Based Strategies for Improving Diversity and Inclusion in Undergraduate Research Labs. Frontiers in Psychology, 10

This paper highlights some evidence-based solutions to recruit and select students from diverse backgrounds to undergraduate research labs. Key action items:

In advertisements for student positions, include pictures of diverse students and explicit statements to encourage students from all backgrounds to apply
Use language to directly combat misperceptions about research labs that may result in students from various backgrounds to select-out of participating
Consider proactive types of recruitment efforts by faculty and lab members such as identifying and encouraging strong minority students in the classroom to apply for research opportunities
Faculty can conduct a job analysis to identify the responsibilities and qualifications that are necessary to be successful in working on research projects and consider alternative ways to assess these skills in the selection process.

Applying Behavioral Insights to Cultivate Diversity & Inclusion

Engendering Success in STEM

This handout provides behavioral approaches and structural interventions to improve diversity in an organization. Key action items:

Use gender-neutral language in job advertisements
Be specific about qualifications
Include visual cues of diversity
Show your inclusive climate
In selection, practice structure and consistency
Anonymize applicants when appropriate
Evaluate applicants as sets

Why Your ‘Objective’ Screening Rubric Produced Biased Results

Vaillaincourt, A. M. (2021). Why Your ‘Objective’ Screening Rubric Produced Biased Results. The Chronicle of Higher Education

Although focused on executive hiring, the five suggestions provided for hiring more diverse team members can be applied to the recruitment of research team members at all levels. Key action items:

Consider the various factors that explain a candidate’s rubric score (potential biases)
Avoid ranking someone highly because they are likeable
Beware of allowing a candidate’s charisma blind the search committee to a candidate’s lack of other critical leadership attributes
Consider that perceptions of “professionalism” and “gravitas” are often based on white male characteristics
Think about which candidates may offer new ways of thinking.

Avoiding Gender Bias in Reference Writing

University of Arizona

This handout provides guidance for avoiding common traps based on unconscious gender bias when writing letters of reference for students. Key action items:

Mention research & publications
Keep it professional
Mind the length of the letters
Stay away from stereotypes
Emphasize accomplishments, not effort
Be careful raising doubt (e.g., “while Sarah has not done a lot of this type of research”)

De-biasing the Evaluation Process of In-person Review Panels for a Postdoctoral Fellowship

Yen, J. W. (2019). De-biasing the evaluation process of in-person review panels for a postdoctoral fellowship. Nature Astronomy, 3(12), 1041-1042

Key action items:

Include a meeting facilitator with experience in diversity and inclusion
Clearly articulate the evaluation criteria before any applications are submitted or reviewed
Provide resources to panel reviewers on bias
Design the in-person review process to reflect research on decision fatigue and unconscious biases
Ensure that multiple dimensions of excellence were intentionally considered
Emphasise building a cohort as well as identifying outstanding individuals

EDI Training

Resources for training team members on embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout the research team members recruitment and selection.

Unconscious Bias Education Modules

Toronto Initiative for Diversity & Excellence (TIDE)

TIDE’s education module series introduces the concept of unconscious bias, how it manifests in processes and procedures and how academic units can adopt more inclusive practices. The modules have been designed for everyone seeking education about unconscious bias and how it can affect assessments, decisions, and inclusive climates. They may be used as a self-guided education tool, a resource for committees to review prior to assessment activities or to facilitate discussions within groups.

Bias in Peer Review

Canada Research Chairs

This is a training module for peer reviewers to promote an understanding of bias and how it can affect the peer review process.

EDI Education Calendar

University of Toronto, PSEC

A calendar with the wide range of EDI trainings/workshops available to the University of Toronto community across the tri-campus offered by the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office, the Sexual and Gender Diversity Office and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Office and the Office of Indigenous Initiatives.