At CapaCITY/É, equity isn’t just a research focus—it’s a core value that we hope permeates every aspect of our work, from how we collaborate to how we design and conduct research, to the topics we choose to study, and how we report our findings. Our dedicated Equity Hub, comprised of team members with diverse expertise and lived experiences, plays a crucial role in guiding our work and ensuring equity remains at the forefront of our initiatives.
Through 2024, the Equity Hub has included members who have research experience or interest in working in different area (specified in parentheses): Meghan Winters (gender and sex), Sarah Moore (disability), Audrey Giles (research with Indigenous Peoples), Tiffany Muller Myrdahl (gender, sexuality, community-engaged research), Anne Harris (body size diversity), and post-doctoral fellow Kaitlyn Kauffeldt (participatory research), with support from the National Research Coordinator Karen Laberee and Research Staff Aman Chandi (employment and gender equity).
Since our inaugural meeting in May 2023, the Equity Hub has contributed to shaping a more equitable research environment in different ways. We started by reviewing best practices related to equity in research teams, which guided us in creating a benchmark survey to assess our team’s needs and inform our strategies moving forward. In November 2023, we hosted a webinar to share the survey findings with the team and discuss actionable next steps.
One immediate action that emerged was to provide support for the team around equitable hiring practices. To action this, we developed an equitable job posting template designed to enhance transparency, and accessibility in our recruitment processes.
The Equity Hub has also provided ongoing support to other working groups, helping them integrate equity considerations into a wide range of activities – things like Summer Training Institute recruitment, student travel grants, interview guides, and surveys. Our work also closely aligns with the work of the Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Hub; we directly noted equity considerations within the CapaCITY/É KMb Plan.
Additionally, we support initiatives like the CapaCITY/É book club, which was launched to help foster connections within the team. The inaugural book club meeting in November included staff, students, researchers, and partners – a great discussion was had on “Inclusive Transportation” by Veronica O. Davis. The next book club meeting is scheduled for January 27 at 10 AM PST, featuring “Killed by a Traffic Engineer” by Wes Marshall. All are welcome to join, even if you haven’t read the book!
Looking ahead
The Equity Hub’s team is expanding, and we are excited to welcome new members Ignacio Tiznado Aitken, Jacob Alhassan, and Gillian Seitz (Research Assistant working on Objective 1). We are continuing to address feedback gathered from our benchmark survey while remaining responsive to the emerging needs of our team.
“Having an Equity Hub helps to centre equity throughout every facet of this large grant,” emphasizes Audrey Giles. This sentiment is echoed by Tiffany Muller Myrdahl, who describes the ongoing nature of equity work:
“Equity is fostered through an ongoing set of practices that requires a commitment to look inward, to our work culture, and outward, to our research relations and the outputs that we aim to produce. Having a team that is committed to reflecting on and developing equitable practices helps to ensure that CapaCITY/É enacts its intentions.”
The Equity Hub has been planning out priorities for 2025. Meghan Winters comments “The Equity Hub has a format to be responsive. We have the time to reflect on particular challenges we might be having at any moment – within the team, or in conducting parts of our research – and try to provide resources and support. Additionally, we also have space to dive more deeply into equity-related work that the team may be keen to explore”.
The expanded team (pictured above – missing Sarah Moore) met in December, below are some ideas that we may be taking up in 2025 are:
- How we work? Support working groups by sharing tools that help with reflexivity or equity-related practices for teams; Plan a spotlight webinar on intersectionality or decolonizing research (we welcome suggested speakers!); Build out our Equity Hub website to share more about members’ interests and expertise.
- How we design and do research? Build equity discussions into the program at the in-person meeting in May 2025; Invite representatives from each objective to come to an Equity Hub meetings to share their work and invite any support they need.
- What topics we choose to study and how we report them? As the CapaCITY/É team starts to have more outputs, and more work with partners, the Equity Hub would love to work with KMb Hub and the individual objectives about how we are disseminating our work.