The last few years have witnessed a resurgence of interest among both scholars and public intellectuals over issues associated with distributive justice and its gravitational orbit of concepts, including the idea of merit and the adjacent vision of a meritocratic society. Nevertheless, despite its centrality for conceptions of equality of…

Women and people of colour are underrepresented in physics in many parts of the world, to the detriment of the field. How do academics' beliefs about the role of 'brilliance' in career success contribute to these representation gaps, and what can be done to address them?

Now more than ever school librarians need to be advocates. COVID brought to light so many things that are wrong with the education system around the country. According to the author, they learned that, although they talk about equity and access for their students, they are not even close to equity and access being a reality for all. As the…

In this opinion piece, Abraham Magendzo and Audrey Osler discuss a range of challenges facing educators, many of which are thrown into sharper relief by the COVID-19 crisis. Both authors see the need for deep reflection within the community of human rights educators and recognise the crisis as an opportunity for informed dialogue among educators…

In this autoethnographic article, I explore my experiences as an early career Academic of Color. Drawing on previous theoretical constructions such as the Strong Black Woman schema (SBW), I present these experiences through the lens of DC Comics' Vixen, a Black female superhero. This research highlights systemic disparities in the treatment of…

The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) recognizes the need to promote inclusive approaches and praxes responsive to the needs and experiences of disabled people. Committing to full access and inclusion guarantees the rights of those with disabilities in classrooms and in the profession and energizes practical and…

Vatican authority is being challenged as Roman Catholic women act upon their vocations to the priesthood, receive ordination, and openly serve their faith communities. Since 2002--when seven women were ordained by male Roman Catholic bishops--190 women have been ordained to the priesthood, including a dozen women bishops. Vatican officials dismiss…

Though the Catholic Church explicitly teaches that women cannot receive priestly ordination, opposition from within and outside the Church continues. The magisterium relies heavily upon the argument from Tradition, claiming that the action and teaching of Christ and his successors verify that he did not bestow upon the Church the power to ordain…

In global terms, the position of women in New Zealand society is relatively strong and at one stage in the early 2000s many senior roles were occupied by women. Equality of opportunity for women in leadership in science and the community has been a focus of attention in New Zealand in government, education, and the sciences for at least two…

My work in the area of spirituality and religion builds on our profession's proud history of expanding diversity to include previously marginalized groups. Each iteration of diversity, however, has been met with critiques implicitly designed to affirm the status quo. In this article, I respond to criticisms that have been leveled against my…

Allison Gonsalves' article on "women doctoral students' positioning around discourses of gender and competence in physics" explores narratives of Canadian women physicists concerning their strategies to gain recognition as physicists. In my response to her rewarding and inspiring analysis I will reflect on her findings and arguments and…

The purpose of this statement is to help beginning faculty members, particularly at the assistant professor rank and in non-tenure-track positions, to succeed in their new institutions. These recommendations are intended for early-career faculty members themselves as well as administrators and other faculty in the hiring departments, to ensure…

In this essay, we embrace a vision of the future of academic libraries where librarians confront and creatively address the lack of racial and ethnic diversity within our profession and actively pursue a social justice agenda within our libraries and in the communities we serve. This future requires that we acknowledge that many of our current…

Hispanics represent one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population. Recent census reports estimate that Hispanics comprise 16 percent of the U.S. population. By 2050, it is estimated that nearly one out of every three Americans will be Hispanic. Many researchers have begun earnestly studying their impact on U.S. economy, culture,…

This current issues piece will explore how autobiographies written by people with autism can help identify sensory processing differences that might be viewed as possible attributes in an enabling society, but for which ableist perceptions are often negative. In concrete terms, these constructions may be preventing people from entering employment…