Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice

 

At CEGA, we believe that the pursuit of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) in development research is both a moral imperative and an important mechanism for driving evidence-based policy change.

 

Below we contextualize what DEIJ means to CEGA.

 

Diversity: CEGA embraces an intellectual community enriched and enhanced by diversity along several dimensions. The following represent CEGA’s current diversity goals, which we reference when recruiting staff, interns, postdocs, fellows, faculty affiliates and advisory board members; designing events and communications; funding research; and engaging partners:

Gender diversity: we seek gender balance in all that we do. Specifically, we aim to recruit more women into technical research positions, fellowship opportunities, and our faculty affiliate network. We seek to incorporate a gender lens into our research and activities wherever possible.

Racial diversity: we seek to build a team that reflects the racial diversity of our home state of California (which is consistently regarded the most diverse state in the nation). In particular, we aim to increase engagement from groups that UC Berkeley has identified as underrepresented on campus (Black, Latinx, Native American, and Pacific Islanders).

Geographic diversity: through our fellowship programs, events, and research funding opportunities, we seek to empower scholars and partner organizations in the low- and middle-income countries and regions where we work.

Diversity of abilities and experiences: we seek to engage staff, faculty, fellows, and partners who are diverse in terms of their age, experience, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and perspective. This includes taking steps to ensure that everything from our website to the events we host are accessible and inviting to people with a wide range of characteristics and preferences.

 

Equity: We seek to provide staff, faculty, students, partners, and grantees with equitable access to opportunities and resources, and to treat everyone–regardless of background–with the same level of respect. Additionally, we aim to create and implement equitable practices and systems that confront and address bias and discrimination.

 

Inclusion: CEGA works hard to maintain a professional environment in which staff, researchers, partners, and others who enter our space (physically and virtually) feel heard, welcome, and empowered to be their whole selves. We strive to actively uplift the work and voices of underrepresented groups in our events, communications, and research portfolios.

 

Justice: Justice at CEGA involves doing our part to “decolonize” development research by treating historically marginalized researchers as equal partners and centering their voices in research and policy debates; ensuring that the burdens and benefits of research are equitably shared across populations; promoting (and enforcing) fair, open, ethical and transparent research practices; and engaging in ongoing dialogue with staff and partners around power and privilege. Additionally, when possible, we support research that informs and inspires better systems of justice as a mechanism for addressing poverty.

CEGA has a dedicated staff member (Associate Director of Global Networks and Inclusion, Maya Ranganath) who is responsible for developing, refining, and tracking progress towards our DEIJ Goals. Additionally, we have an internal DEIJ working group tasked with holding us accountable to these goals, and carrying out relevant projects as needed. Finally, we host regular staff-led coffee chats about DEIJ issues at CEGA and across the broader development research community. We regularly invite feedback and suggestions from CEGA staff on DEIJ, and value engagement with colleagues and peer organizations on these important topics.