The Computational Hydrology team endorses the principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion by providing a supportive and obstacle-free workplace for everyone without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour or culture, sex or gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, religion, political or other opinion, national or ethnic/social origin, birth or other status (e.g., family and socioeconomic), in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the University of Saskatchewan Guidelines for Academic Conduct. We recognize that preferred scientific approaches may differ for individuals and institutions, and rigorous yet constructive dialog about such differences are both welcome and encouraged.
The Computational Hydrology team is committed to providing a safe, positive, respectful, accessible, and non-discriminatory workplace for everyone. Harassment, sexism, prejudice, and discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. Acts that are considered inappropriate, both in person or online, include but are not limited to intimidation (i.e. personal harassment), bullying and threats (i.e. physical harassment), sexual attention or comments and inappropriate physical contact (i.e. sexual harassment), racial and sexual slurs or jokes (i.e. discriminatory harassment). More specific definitions of harassment are provided by the University of Saskatchewan here.
The movement to improve our academic culture requires that everyone should be given opportunities that enable them to reach their full potential (equity), that disadvantaged groups flourish in the community (diversity), and that the institutional environment promotes participation, engagement, empowerment, and a sense of belonging for every team member (inclusion). Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is a matter of common decency. Our strategy to ensure that the EDI culture thrives within our research team is built on the following principles:
Equity: The research environment is most effective if each team member has the opportunity for intellectual and personal growth.
Diversity: The research environment is most effective if it includes people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and world views.
Inclusion: The research environment is most effective where all team members trust each other, support each other, and work together closely to help each other succeed.
These principles recognize that advancing EDI improves the academic culture and the effectiveness of our research programs.
As we all work together to improve EDI, it is obvious that we require a continual process of learning. Everyone is coming to the table with a different set of experiences, the scientific culture is diverse, and we often need creative solutions in order to improve EDI in specific situations. Advancing EDI requires both training to improve core competencies and ensure that everyone has a common vocabulary; advancing EDI also requires extensive discussion and debate.
Our approach to advancing EDI goals is to ensure that our research group continues learning about EDI issues. We engage in the EDI events provided by the University and ensure that EDI discussions are a regular part of our group meetings. As an example, our team joined the Global Water Futures “Speaking Up” training that was focused on raising awareness on bias and helping team members gain the skills necessary to prevent and interrupt discrimination and harassment. The training was in two parts: The first part was a virtual screening of the film “Picture a Scientist” that provided disturbing examples of brutal harassment of women scientists; the second part used theatre techniques to engage participants in challenging situations in the workplace and show examples of effective strategies for bystander intervention. The team found this training quite powerful, and the training sparked extensive discussion among small groups. It was incredibly useful for everyone to receive the same training at the same time so that we have a shared understanding of problems and solutions. Many team members have also participated in the “4 Seasons of Reconciliation” course which provides Indigenous-focussed anti-racism training in line with the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada.
We hold a lab/team meeting focused on EDI-related issues once per semester so that we can build and nurture a cohesive research team that respects the strengths of a myriad of individuals to solve challenging research problems. These meetings focus more on discussion and debate. As an example, our team has recognized that many students and postdocs come from other countries and have limited awareness about the Truth and Reconciliation journey in Canada. To address this challenge, we engage in training opportunities that enable our students and postdoctoral scholars to learn more about Indigenous Peoples in Canada. A subset of our research group meets every two weeks to identify trainings and actions which they disseminate to the broader group, and to be a portal for people to voice opinions they prefer to share anonymously. Our team is also working to identify specific actions that we can take to improve Indigenous inclusion (e.g., land acknowledgement in research presentations and in journal articles). More generally, our approach to improve EDI is a continual process of reflection and action.
This is a living document. As we continue to grow and develop we will update this document to reflect our evolving EDI practices and the group’s activities.
Members of the computational hydrology team come from different backgrounds and regions. We live and work on Treaty 6 and 7 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis, Tsuut’ina, Stoney, Ktunaxa and the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot). We thank these nations for their care and stewardship over this land and water. We pay our respect to the ancestors of these places and reaffirm our relationship with one another. The intent and goal of our research is to advance understanding and predictions of environmental systems in order to support conscious stewardship of the lands and water to safeguard the environment for future generations.
Canada Government, Best Practices in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research
USASK Guide to Discrimination and Harassment Prevention
United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights