BOULDER 2025.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ARCTIC RESEARCH PLANNING IV.
GENDER, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN POLAR RESEARCH:
WHERE DO WE STAND, AND WHAT'S NEXT IN THE ICARP IV AND IPY 5 PLANNING PROCESS?
This session and roundtable will revise recent and ongoing activities related to gender, equity, diversity, and inclusion in polar research. We have come a long way discussing research labor conditions, implementing diversity and equity in the scientific community and in capacity building for future generations. These topics require further debate: how can they be incorporated and reflected in future research priorities? How can they be included in research funding frameworks? How do they tie into research policy making? We invite participants to reflect on research practices, research policies, and research agendas. We hope for the participation of Indigenous and local actors, early-career research organisations, queer activists in Polar research, IASC and SCAR working groups and committees, research funding agencies, polar research policy actors – beyond that, everyone interested is welcome! The aim of the session is to formulate input into ICARP IV and the International Polar Year 2032-33.
SPEAKERS.
Science under pressure? Towards a more sustainable and inclusive science for ICARP IV & IPY-5, Annette Scheepstra, Arctic Centre, University of Groningen
Widening participation in Polar Science through institutional change: The Diversity in UK Polar Science Initiative (DiPSI), Pilvi Saarikoski, British Antarctic Survey, Diversity in UK Polar Science Initiative (DiPSI), SCAR EDI Action Group
APECS’ views on enhancing diversity and equity in the polar community, Sarah Marie Strand, APECS
Women’s experiences inform pathways to more gender-inclusive polar fieldwork and ethical research practice, Daniela Walch, Université du Québec à Rimouski
Mothers in the Field: considering motherhood in polar research planning and implementation, Christine Yiqing Liang, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
How can we make polar research more inclusive for caregivers?, Melissa Ward Jones, University of Alaska Fairbanks
ORGANIZERS.
The Arctic Science Summit Week 2025 includes the Fourth International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP IV) Summit. This is the summative event of the ICARP IV process, which is a multi-year effort that began in 2022 to engage the international community on critical topics and priorities for Arctic research in the next 10 years. The Summit engages Arctic researchers, Indigenous Peoples, policymakers, and other interested parties from around the world, serving as a crucial milestone for shaping the Fifth International Polar Year in 2032–33.
