The Importance of Making a Presence at Diversity-Focused Conferences

Certain racial/ethnic groups (African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, and Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders) and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals are persistently underrepresented (UR) in the STEM fields. At professional scientific society conferences, the number of UR undergraduate, graduate, postdoc, faculty and professional participation are still low for various reasons. However, many UR individuals attend and engage in diversity-focused conferences like Society for Advancing Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) over other professional societies. The diversity-focused conferences offer high quality science content alongside diverse cultural perspectives. This presentation will introduce what occurs at diversity-focused conferences (SACNAS/AISES), why a non-UR should attend and explore the how to promote diverse student success and support diverse faculty advancement.