McClain Taskforce Convening Videos
On March 31, 2023, the APSA Diversity and Inclusion Department and the McClain Task Force on Systemic Inequality hosted 26 scholars and association leaders for a convening in Washington D.C. Led by former APSA President, Dr. Paula D. McClain, the task force released its report and recommendations in 2022. The task force report addresses the many issues of concern for marginalized members of our discipline, such as racial and ethnic minority scholars, women of all races and ethnicities, and LGBTQ scholars. The goal of the convening was to assist faculty leaders with laying the groundwork for engagement and implementation of the key recommendations for removing barriers to equity in graduate departments and across the discipline.
McClain Taskforce Working Group Chair, Dr. Cathy Cohen, discusses the promotion process for academics in political science and how identity, specifically race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and institution-type impact promotional paths. A recent APSA survey demonstrated that men of color are nearly 50 percent less likely than White men to be promoted to associate professor. Additionally, 24 percent of Black scholars traced in the survey left the academy. The taskforce found that promotion processes were largely affected by an individual’s mentorship and support from senior faculty members. The task force recommends that APSA creates a long-term longitudinal data project to study why marginalized groups are “pushed out” of the academy. Additionally, they recommend departments re-evaluate their tenure/ promotion tracks to assess where bias has been introduced, such as in mentoring and departmental culture.
McClain Taskforce Working Group Chair, Dr. John Garcia, discusses the impact of citations, academic journals, and editing on the career trajectory of junior political scientists. He mentions there is a direct correlation between the number of times an individual is cited to their tenure promotion and general academic reputation. It was also found that research related to race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc. is deeply under-represented in mainstream political science journals. Therefore, citation “gaps” and institutional barriers to success have been found for marginalized individuals in the discipline. The task force additionally discovered that there is a significant lack of training in peer-reviewing skills, causing a shortage of peer reviewers.
McClain Taskforce Working Group Chair, Dr. Carol Mershon, discusses the profound effects caused by micro-aggressions, bullying, and implicit bias within the discipline. Her team’s findings expand upon those of a landmark 2017 APSA survey, which revealed that 30 percent of women reported harassment at four prior APSA annual meetings. Their work interrogates hostile climates within political science departments and offers several recommendations to improve these conditions. They offer suggestions for departments such as hiring more faculty of color, prioritizing regular data collection, making departments more attractive to marginalized faculty through adding REP courses, and enlarging the pool of candidates by advertising on listservs of race, ethnicity, sexuality and politics. Additionally, APSA could more strongly emphasize DEI and anti-harassment policy at the annual meetings, as well as increase APSA’s DEI personnel and funding for DEI initiatives.
McClain Taskforce Working Group Chair, Dr. Niambi Carter, discusses the complexity of the modern graduate student experience and how race, ethnicity, gender, national identity, immigration status, sexuality, and class are addressed in university departments. Their group focused on gathering data concerning student exposure to information about the academy, student evaluation, departmental communication and feedback, disciplinary representation, and departmental inclusion. GRE testing, hidden curriculum, and costs of campus visits are some of the many barriers to inclusion that students face within the discipline.