By Tracy Cahall, Mary Leszczynski, and Max Liberatore-Resnick
Project Overview
The member demographic campaign is a year-long effort to encourage all members to add or update their demographics, to create a visualization of the data that informs and inspires.
Our project includes bimonthly spreads in
OR/MS Today as well as an interactive display at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Attendees will be able to update their demographic information in person and see their own data visualized instantly and added to the honeycomb design representing the diversity of INFORMS members.
Objectives
- To get as many members as possible to update their demographic data in the system
- To showcase the diversity that exists within INFORMS
- To keep diversity, equity, and inclusion top of mind for members, through regular magazine articles and an eye-catching display at the Annual Meeting
- To have a more complete and accurate set of demographic data by the end of 2022, so that INFORMS is better prepared to move forward with future diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts
Progress
As of the end of September, 66% of INFORMS members have updated their demographic profiles. This has met/exceeded our goal of 50%, with three months left to go.
We have also tracked the change in the percentage of members who provide an answer for each individual demographic that we measure (as opposed to leaving it blank). Here’s where the data stands:
- Primary work setting +2.0%
- Highest degree +4.4%
- Race/ethnicity +13.2%
- Gender identity +5.4%
- Pronouns +24.6%
- Birth year –2.6%
- Languages spoken +25.9%
- OR/MS activities +26.3%
- Sexual orientation +25.6%
- Career stage +20.5%
- Accessibility needs +51.8%
Our goal was +15% in every category. We have exceeded this goal for 6 of the 11 categories, with three months left to go. The visualization itself has been published in five issues of
OR/MS Today, with the final issue of the year still to come. In each issue, we filled in more of the blank honeycomb with color, texture, and shapes representing the answers of anonymous members. We are looking forward to the Annual Meeting so that we can collect additional data, showcase our design, and talk with members about how they see diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at INFORMS.
Lessons Learned (So Far)
- There are more ways to measure diversity than we have thought of yet. Major aspects of our individual identity, like race, gender, age, and sexual orientation, are often the focus of DEI conversations, for good reason. But there are many more lenses through which we see the world; many more characteristics on which others may make assumptions about us. Country/culture of origin, size of institution, neurodiversity, income level – these are just a few of the dimensions of diversity that came up in conversation this year, which we currently do not measure. Regardless of if we should, the point we must keep in mind is that the influences on a person’s experience go far beyond what can be captured in a questionnaire. We acknowledge and honor that.
- Privacy concerns must be addressed openly. We received feedback from some members that they were uncomfortable answering personal demographic questions. This is an understandable concern. We added links to our Privacy Policy, explicit opt-ins for both storing demographic data and using it for any purpose, and we made sure to point out the option to select ‘Prefer not to answer’ for multiple choice questions. We advise anyone embarking on a project that incorporates demographics to consider privacy issues carefully before any outreach.
- Inclusion means everyone. We received thoughtfully written feedback from some members who disagree with the idea of collecting personal demographics at all, on the grounds that it is not relevant in a professional society or that it sows division. Our opinion is different. But we do want to acknowledge that a member who disagrees with us is no less a member. Respectful debate will always be welcome at INFORMS.
- Change is constant. In 2021 we went through the process of updating the answer choices connected to each of our demographic questions. Throughout 2022, as we’ve been receiving responses to those questions, including write-in answers, we can see that some further updates are needed. Best practices and expectations in the DEI space do change over time and we must make it a priority to keep up with that.
What Comes Next?
By the end of 2022, INFORMS will have significantly more and better demographic data than we had at the beginning. But this is just a starting point for truly understanding the diversity of INFORMS and how we can best support equitable representation and opportunity for all people within our organization. We also want to think bigger and contribute to the same beyond INFORMS, in the field of O.R. & Analytics. A recent article in
Science magazine makes the case for the importance of better demographic collection by professional organizations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. (
Read the abstract here.)
INFORMS has a strategic goal to “advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that we do.” That remains a priority, and so the work will continue. Here are some of our plans:
- Compile and review all member feedback, including write-in answers. Determine what changes are necessary.
- Continue to communicate with the membership periodically about how to review and make changes to their demographics. Continue to share our Privacy Policy and clearly answer any questions about data storage and usage.
- Make aggregate demographic data available to officers of INFORMS communities (excluding details for sensitive data for those members who did not opt in) in support of their DEI goals.
- Analyze the answers to each demographic question and compare against baseline to begin to answer the question: “How diverse is INFORMS, really?”
We want to thank all the members, volunteers, and INFORMS staff who have participated in this project, given support, or provided feedback. We look forward to supporting the work of the DEI Ambassadors in the future.