Inclusive Scientific Meetings: An Implementation Guide

In an effort to prioritize diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in scientific environments, the following guide will help meeting and conference organizers make their meetings more inclusive and accessible. Our guide was written as a compliment to the 500 Women Scientists' Inclusive Scientific Meetings Guide. While 500 Women Scientists has a great guide for understanding the principals behind suggested best practices, their guide does not go into great detail about how to implement these practices. Our guide focuses on the implementation of DEIA practices in scientific meetings and conferences and is meant to provide guidance to meeting organizers who are at all levels of DEIA education. It does not delve into the theory behind the DEIA practices in most cases, but presents a set of easy to follow recommendations. This guide is not meant to be a checklist of what must be included in scientific meetings and conferences, rather it is a starting point to help people begin to implement DEIA practices and to start having conversations about how to make their specific meeting or conference more inclusive and accessible. Scientific meetings and conferences are a great place to do DEIA work because it is where science is disseminated and where many early career scientists find opportunities to advance their careers; from presenting their work, to engaging with collaborators, to meeting potential future advisors and employers. The same concepts described in this guide can be generalized into many scientific environments beyond meetings and conferences.