Diversity and Inclusion
The SC Steering Committee recognizes the problem of systemic and institutionalized racism and pledges to address these issues within the SC community to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.
Recognizing racism
The SC Steering Committee recognizes that systemic and institutionalized racism have been blinding, leading to a failure to create a conference that is inclusive for BIPOC (Black/Indigenous/People of Color) communities. Amidst the global reexamination of systemic and institutional racism, we are addressing these issues within SC’s context to instantiate a thoroughly welcoming and inclusive environment.
Recent events, including the horrific and unacceptable killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd as well as the protests of police actions that led to their deaths, have heightened our awareness of the ways systemic racism impacts us all.
Our pledge
The SC Conference organizers pledge to the SC community to take direct action to improve the racial climate. As a start, we have created a task force on Racial and Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion at SC to help shape and drive our actions moving forward.
This task force aims to investigate and offer deliberate actions the conference might pursue while striving for transparency and accountability. Initial recommendations from the task force are already underway. SC will publish statistics on the racial and ethnic diversity of conference attendees and, beginning at SC20, the committee is thrilled to provide complimentary Technical Program registration to students, faculty, and staff from minority-serving institutions.
Future conferences
As planning continues for future conferences, we are excited to proceed with programs focused on diversity and inclusion such as HPC in the City, HPC Immersion, and the SIGHPC Computing4Change Program.
We also look forward to continuing to support grassroots organizations that have chosen to host their workshops, Birds of a Feather sessions, and events at the SC Conference.
Furthermore, the SC Conference organizers are committed to upholding the ACM and IEEE codes of conduct which prohibit discrimination, harassment, and bullying against any person for any reason.
Contact us
If you have feedback, suggestions, or experiences to share with the SC Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion, please feel free to contact us anonymously using the form below.
You may also use this form to connect with the task force and get involved.
Those looking to participate in the planning of future SC Conferences can learn more about joining the SC Planning Committee on the Volunteer page.
The SC Steering Committee would like to acknowledge the external members of the SC Task Force on Racial Diversity and Inclusion for their time, effort, and dedication in their tremendous work thus far, including the crafting of this statement.
SC Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion
Mission Statement
This task force will review, research, and provide guidance for addressing diversity and inclusion throughout the SC Conference Series. The specific focus of this task force will be on racial and ethnic diversity and improving our efforts to provide professional and educational opportunities to members of racial minority communities. Additional topics including, but not limited to, diversity and inclusion related to the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender, LGBTQ+, disabilities, and international participants may be considered, but will not serve as the primary focus of this subcommittee.
This task force is intended to be in place through January of 2021, at which point we will re-evaluate our position and consider formation of a strategic planning sub-committee.
We are incredibly grateful for the participation and involvement of task force members serving in an external capacity and for their efforts and contributions to the broader SC community.
Members
External
Dorian Arnold, Emory University
Roscoe Giles, Boston University
Wendy Wilhelm, Intel Corporation
William Burke, The George Washington University
Steering
Christine Harvey, The MITRE Corporation
Bronis de Supinski, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Christine Cuicchi, US Department of Defense HPC Modernization Program
Luiz DeRose, Amazon Web Services
Ex Officio
Kelly Gaither, Texas Advanced Computing Center
AJ Lauer, The National Center for Atmospheric Research