The EEB Language Project: Championing inclusive terminology in ecology and evolution

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

2:45 PM – 3:05 PM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 224 B, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

Kathy Darragh

Assistant Professor
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana

Co-Author(s)

SC

Susan J Cheng

University of Michigan, Michigan
KG

Kaitlyn M Gaynor

The University of British Columbia, Canada
AM

Alex C Moore

The University of British Columbia, Canada
CE

Cesar O Estien

University of California
Berkeley, California
JH

J W Hammon

Michigan Technological University, Michigan
CL

Christopher Lawrence

Princeton University
KM

Kirby L Mills

University of Michigan, Michigan
MB

Marcella D Baiz

University of Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
DI

Danielle Ignace

The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
LK

Lily Khadempour

Assistant Professor
Rutgers University
Newark, New Jersey
MM

Matthew McCary, Ph.D.

Assistant professor
Rice University
Houston, Texas
MR

Mallory M Rice

California State University
ST

Shersingh Joseph Tumber-Dávila

Dartmouth College
JS

Justine A Smith

University of California
Davis, California

Amid a growing disciplinary commitment to inclusion in ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB), it is critical to consider how the use of scientific language can harm members of our research community. Through a mixed-methods survey, we explored how members of the EEB community perceive discipline-specific terminology, how they believe it can be harmful, and which terms are identified as particularly problematic. We surveyed over 2,000 individuals and found that almost half of respondents agreed that there are harmful terms in EEB, and that individuals from marginalized groups were more likely to agree that they have been harmed by terminology in EEB. Our findings suggest there is an urgent need for the field to confront and critically reassess its discipline-specific terminology.