Reflecting on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – Past, Present and Future

My June 2021 OR/MS Today column was about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) [1]. I’m revisiting this topic to provide our community with transparency into our work. Our commitment to DEI must not be performative; it must be impactful.  

May 25, 2020. A turning point in modern history and a date many won’t forget –the day George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer. Although racism has been part of the United States since before its incorporation, the untimely death of George Floyd served as a catalyst for change and is still very present here at INFORMS.  

Days after Floyd’s murder, INFORMS released the following statement:  

No words can fully express our sadness and disappointment as we watch the continued civil rights abuses transpiring throughout the country, and we acknowledge the structural issues contributing to a compounding of racial injustices and pain that have led to this point. This is one of the most poignant moments in our history; we must stand together and work together for a diverse, inclusive, fair, and just future. INFORMS looks forward to leading future conversations and supporting the work of our members that explore solutions and call us to action. 

INFORMS wasn’t alone; many people, businesses and organizations spoke up. Since then, there has been a shift. The needle has moved toward increased advocacy for diversity, equity and inclusion. This includes the INFORMS Board of Directors approving a new strategic plan with one goal laser-focused on advancing DEI. The battle is far from over, but progress is being made.  

Of course, DEI is more than race and ethnicity, and work is being done in many industries and organizations, including INFORMS. A wide range of actions are being taken. For example, Rice Krispies Treats™ recently introduced revamped wrappers to make them sensory-friendly. We’ve seen the makers of Barbie roll out gender-neutral dolls and dolls with vitiligo; Coca-Cola has marketed their sodas with a wide variety of names on the labels that can be found across the world; and, of course, future-forward Sesame Street has introduced new characters, including an Asian American and an autistic Muppet. Changes are happening. 

Here at INFORMS, we are building on our momentum that started decades ago. The Forum for Women in OR/MS (WORMS) was formed in 1995, Minority Issues Forum (MIF) in 2001 and the INFORMS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) in 2015. These communities have been trailblazers in the fight for inclusion within INFORMS. Over the past few years, the focus of these groups has turned into association-wide goals, as demonstrated clearly in our new strategic goals approved in 2021. 

Some highlights of what we have accomplished over the past 12 months are below. This includes the revision of the INFORMS Code of Conduct to include adherence to DEI principles [2] and introducing training for unconscious bias for INFORMS volunteers.  

• The DEIC’s Ambassadors Program is in its third year and going strong. The number of ambassadors has increased each year from 14 in 2020 to 22 in 2021 and 23 this year. Projects have also increased from only eight in 2020 to 10 projects this year. Some of this year’s projects include “Implementing an Accessible INFORMS,” “Informal Reception for LGBTQIA+ Folks and Allies at 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting” and “INFORMS Member Demographic Campaign Visualization.” This last project includes the graphic visualization of a large-scale campaign to gather demographic information from our members. With this information, we will be able to measure whether our DEI initiatives have been successful thus far. If we want to move the needle, we must know where the needle is.  
• We also introduced the Amazon SCOT and INFORMS Fellowships during the 2021 INFORMS Annual Meeting. This program provided scholarships to students from minority-serving institutions to attend the conference and become an INFORMS member. We hope to include a similar program for the 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting. In addition, the DEIC sponsored a keynote speaker and at the 2020 and 2021 Annual Meetings, and we are now proposing to operationalize this as a component for the 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting and all future annual meetings. 
• The INFORMS Combined Colloquia continues to hold DEI-focused sessions (a trend going on two years now), and this year, the DEIC was invited to present during the colloquia. Additionally, there are plans to formally add language to the INFORMS Policies & Procedures document to ensure DEI is a standard part of the program. 
• INFORMS’ Publications Department has made strides in the DEI effort, including publishing several special issues on DEI within our academic journals as well as covering the topic in OR/MS Today. There are currently two special issues in the works for our journals: “INFORMS Transactions on Education: Special Issue on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in OR/MS Classrooms” and “Marketing Science: Conference and Special Section of Marketing Science on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” The publications group has also increased the diversity of editors-in-chief and its search-and-review committees as well as diversified authorship within the magazines. In 2021, 68% of the feature articles in OR/MS Today were authored by first-time authors. Language is also being added to its Policies & Procedures to advance DEI. Moreover, we have increased transparency by including demographic information of editorial boards on the websites for each journal. 

In my June column last year, I said that the statement made by INFORMS after the death of George Floyd resonated with me because it clearly stated that we must “work together” – it was a call to action [2]. What I have just listed are only some of the activities that we, as a collective INFORMS, have accomplished over the last year. We continue to build on our strong foundation, and it is a base that we can stand firm on. Let’s keep climbing and building together. We are making strides each year. Imagine the exponential change we can make within INFORMS and around the globe if our community of 11,000+ members works together for diversity, equity and inclusion.  

As always, I welcome your feedback.  

References 

1. https://doi.org/10.1287/orms.2021.03.07 
2. https://doi.org/10.1287/orms.2021.06.09