Transformative Allyship: Demographers as Catalysts for Change in Diversity,

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Demographers share their best practices as allies in supporting diversity, equality, and inclusion at the undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and faculty level in demography.

Growing racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 infection and deaths, the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others at the hands of police officers and vigilantes, and the ensuing the mass protests against racism have brought into sharp focus how racism may manifest itself in many social settings including in professional organizations like the Population Association of America. In this first panel of the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) series sponsored by the PAA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee we discuss with leaders in demography their best practices as allies in supporting diversity, equality, and inclusion at the undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and faculty level. All too often the burden of addressing the reality of racism and taking action falls on the shoulders of African American, Latinx, and Indigenous scholars, especially women. How can we make “good trouble” to address structural racism in demography, higher education, and make PAA a more equitable and welcoming space?

Moderators:

Hedwig Lee, Professor of Sociology and Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity, Washington University in St. Louis
Mao-Mei Liu, Assistant Director of Advancing Diversity in Aging Research at UC Berkeley (Cal-ADAR) and Project Scientist of the Caribbean American Dementia and Aging Study, University of California Berkeley.

Panelists:

1. Katharine Donato, Donald G. Herzberg Chair in International Migration and is Director of the Institute for the Study of International Migration in the School of Foreign Service
2. Filiz Garip, Professor of Sociology, Cornell University
3. Margaret Takako Hicken, Research Associate Professor, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
4. Christopher Wildeman, Professor of Sociology, Duke University
5. Robert A. Hummer, Howard W. Odum Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Fellow of the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill