Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Systems Sciences: A Snapshot of ISSS Today and a View Towards Tomorrow

ISSS prides itself on being “among the first and oldest organizations devoted to interdisciplinary inquiry into the nature of complex systems, and remains perhaps the most broadly inclusive.” There is an urgent need in society for greater systems literacy, and the more diverse the membership of ISSS becomes, the more likely systems literacy will increase across disciplines as well as genders and cultures.   Last December the ISSS board of directors approved the formation of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Systems Sciences SIG. Our purpose is to   Share research in the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion particularly as it relates to the Systems Sciences; Share examples of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion applications; Examine how both the ISSS and the larger systems community can increase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within and across their organizations; Promote a sense of belonging, caring for others, acceptance of norms of behavior; and Become an engine/enabler for providing tools, techniques and support to various ISSS groups and projects and to the larger systems community so as to affect an increase in DEI.   In June, the DEI SIG surveyed the membership to establish a baseline of DEI for ISSS. This session will present the results of the survey and will invite participants into a conversation about what the findings mean and how we want to proceed with increasing DEI within the ISSS