The mainstream media has picked up that within the atheist community, there’s been a growing discussion about a perceived lack of diversity among the people viewed as leaders of this movement. I’m not going to rehash the entire discussion (Ashley Miller’s 2013 article "The Non-Religious Patriarchy: Why Losing Religion HAS NOT Meant Losing White Male Dominance" provides a good starting basis) but much of it has focussed on (the important) discussions of why and how the movement should build diversity, with not as much being said about whether things are actually changing.
In the spirit of Sense About Science’s Ask For Evidence campaign (though unaffiliated in any way), Chris Hassall asked me while I was living in Leeds if I could help him research trends in diversity among the leadership of the skeptic/atheist community. It’s a question he’s been thinking about for a couple years (at least) and one I was eager to help answer (particularly being unemployed at the time).
Using as much data as I could find from Google and getting in touch with organisers, we compiled a list of 630 people who have spoken at almost 50 different conferences over the past decade. We made our best estimates of age, sex, education, and ethnicity and were able to show that diversity has increased over the study period.
Once the work was done, we submitted to the journal Secularism & Nonreligion and after some edits from the reviewers, we’re published. It’s an open source journal and our data is available through figshare for those who have novel ideas on how to reuse our work.
What did we find?
Compared to the global gender-balance of the non-religious community, significantly more of the speakers are men and more of the slots available to speak at have gone to men.
Diversity among the speakers has increased
Why is this important?
There’s been a dearth of evidence in the discussions about diversity in the atheist community. Most focuses either on personal anecdotes or specific events/people and their actions or commentary. These discussions are clearly important – personal stories tell us that sexual harassment has happened at atheist and skeptic conferences and those making sexist comments should be challenged. But to make our efforts to change things – particularly at the systematic level – we need to mirror the successes of the evidence-based medicine movement (and by extension the more recent science-based medicine movement). This should seem obvious to a community that prides itself on using reason and evidence to guide its worldview, yet such a discussion has been slow to come.
Similar thinking motivated the BC Humanists to commission a poll into the state of the broader non-religious public in BC in 2013 and I suspect it also motivated American Secular Census and the Atheist Census projects.
We hope that this paper starts a discussion on how to better use evidence in our efforts to improve the community. While the trendline is positive, there is still work to be done.
I’m hoping to follow up this work with a talk I can give at Skeptics in the Pub (or elsewhere) and possibly future investigations. I’m also happy to answer any further questions about this work. Send me an email [email protected] or leave a comment below (or on the paper itself).
Sidebar: The sad ironies
I fully recognise the irony of a sociological paper being published by a PhD in Biology and a MSc in Physics. I also realise that this is a discussion about diversity coming from two white men. Nevertheless, I hope it still proves a valuable contribution to the broader discussion and I encourage everyone to listen to people from different backgrounds with different perspectives. Comments are welcome on the paper itself and both Chris and I are eager to discuss this work further.
Reference: Hassall, C and Bushfield, I 2014. Increasing Diversity in Emerging Non-religious Communities.Secularism and Nonreligion 3:7, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/snr.as
]]>Well, at least until “Ben” complained about how frequently he gets “friend-zoned”.
What hooked me on this video was the absurd claim that “Ben” was going to use science to oppress pick up women.
Going to the website (which I won’t link to, Google Pandora’s Box) we find the following disclaimer:
I agree to use the techniques in Pandora’s Box ethically and responsibly. Altare Publishing cannot be held liable if I use Pandora’s Box to manipulate, or otherwise psychologically harm any person(s). I understand that Vin is not a Psychologist, and that his advice is not a substitute for psychological advice.
I fully assume all possible risks from Pandora’s Box and release Altare Publishing from all liability. I understand that talking to women by nature carries a risk of rejection. I understand that using the Pandora’s Box System will greatly reduce the risk of rejection, but with any dating educational program, the risk of rejection can never totally be eliminated.
What annoys me even more is that this ad was in front of a legitimate science video, which means other science-curious people (likely only those listed as male by their Google profile) will be exposed to this shit.
The site lists a page of references to papers and textbooks on psychology to support its “science” but to me this is no more scientific than other immoral and unethical abuses of science like eugenics.
]]>My criteria:
- Alive
- Does not identify as white (i.e. Caucasian/European) and male
- Is either an active atheist/skeptic/humanist or their work demonstrates a commitment to human rights and secular values
- Was born in, lived in, or presently lives in British Columbia
Feel free to add your own in the comments. Names are alphabetical by last name. Not all of the below are officially atheist/humanist but they do show a commitment to secular values.
If you see your name below and would rather not be on this list, please email me.
Joyce Arthur
Executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada. Feminist and humanist.
Donna F. Barker
Addictions counsellor and presenter at Skepticamp Vancouver.
Lindsay Beyerstein
Investigative journalist, blogger, and photographer based in Brooklyn, originally from Vancouver.
Susan (Suzie) Beyerstein
Skeptic living in Nanaimo. Won 2008 Skeptics’ Toolbox In the Trenches Award.
Sandhu Binning
Retired UBC Punjabi professor, secular and rationalist South Asian. Frequent debater of Sikhs on Punjabi TV. Author of Atheist Verses. Read more.
Kim Campbell
Former Prime Minister of Canada, as Justice Minister introduced “no means no” and rape shield laws. Now works to promote democracy and women’s rights around the world. Lapsed Anglican.
Amanda Catching
Aboriginal Science Coordinator at UBC. Part of Vancouver’s skeptics community.
Crystal Catudal
Digital marketing and graphic designer, past president of the BC Humanist Association.
Jenna Capyk
Past contributor to Radio Freethinker with a background in life and neuro-sciences.
Raffi Cavoukian
Egyptian-born Canadian children’s singer-songwriter. Promotes children’s rights and environmentalism from Victoria.
Carrie Chapman
Laboratory demonstrator and skeptical activist at Langara University.
Patricia Churchland
Canadian-American philosopher, born in Oliver, BC and attended UBC. Attended Beyond Belief in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Leah Costello
Founder of the Bon Mot Book Club and former Director of Events for the Fraser Institute. Event host and community activist. Atheist.
Ian Cromwell
Former Freethought Blogs contributor on the intersection of race and religion and health economist.
Libby Davies
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East since 1997, co-founder of the Downtown Eastside Residents Association and past Vancouver City Councillor.
Nicole Deagan
Co-founder and host of F Word feminist radio show on Vancouver Co-Op radio, co-founder of Vancouver Feminist Action Project.
Ujjal Dosanjh
Former Premier of BC 2000-2001 and Member of Parliament for Vancouver South 2004-2011. Frequently speaks out against Sikh extremism.
Hedy Fry
Member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre since 1993, originally from Trinidad and Tobago. A former physician, Fry was Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Status of Women and is currently the Liberal Critic for Health. A lapsed Catholic.
Nina George
Founder of Mountain Sky Soaps and director of Centre for Inquiry West Kootenays.
Self-described geek, martial arts expert and writer. Repeat guest on Caustic Soda podcast and part of Vancouver’s skeptic community.
Jarrah Hodge
Feminist writer and blogger. Founder and editor of Gender-Focus and Trekkie Feminist. Humanist.
Annette Horton
Psychiatrist and past president of the BC Humanists.
Sue Hughson
Veterinary doctor and feminist. Vice-president of the BC Humanists.
Lynn Hunter
Former Member of Parliament and current advocate for Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. A practicing Unitarian in Victoria.
Gabrielle Jackson
Research assistant in Archaeology at SFU. Past executive of SFU Skeptics.
Kathy Leavens
Chartered financial assistant and past treasurer for the BC Humanists.
Sarah McLachlan
Canadian singer-songwriter, founded Lilith Fair, supports AIDS, animal welfare, and women’s charities. Agnostic or pantheist living in Vancouver.
Wanda Morris
Executive Director of Dying with Dignity Canada. Unitarian.
Armin Navabi
Iranian-Canadian atheist living in Vancouver. Founder of Atheist Republic Facebook Page (with over 750,000 likes) and website.
Blythe Nilson
Associate Professor of Biology at UBC Okanagan and Advisory Fellow for Centre for Inquiry Canada.
Ara Norenzayan
UBC social psychologist concerned with the religious mindset. Raised in Lebanon.
Katrina Pacey
Lawyer with focus on labour and human rights. Litigation director for Pivot Legal Society and counselled sex workers in a constitutional challenge to Canada’s prostitution laws.
Chloe Packer
Former contributor to Radio Freethinker.
Kate Pullinger
Novelist and author, born in Cranbrook BC living in London. Won 2009 Governor General’s Award for The Mistress of Nothing. Atheist.
Shiraz Ramji
Poet and figure of SFU – as a student, staff, researcher, and guest lecturer. Born in Tanzania and an advocate of pacifism and human rights.
Rosie Redfield
UBC Zoologist and science blogger. Refuted NASA’s arsenic-life claim.
Former blogger with Freethought Blogs, covers trans-feminist issues.
Zena Ryder
Assistant branch leader with CFI Okanangan. Studied philosophy. Founder of their Kids for Inquiry series.
Jinny Sims
Indo-Canadian Member of Parliament for Newton-North Delta and secular Sikh.
Sharon Manson Singer
SFU Professor with School of Public Policy. Establishing BC Population Prospertity Network and co-founder of EvidenceNetwork.ca.
Gurpreet Singh
Indo-Canadian broadcaster and journalist. Frequently promotes Tarksheel and other rationalist voices in English and Punjabi media.
David Suzuki
Famed Canadian science populariser, environmentalist, and survivor of Japanese interment camps (despite being third-generation Canadian). Atheist.
Jessica Tracy
Associate Professor of Psychology at UBC. Work focuses on emotion and self-esteem. Spoke for the BCHA on her work “Death and science: The existential underpinnings of belief in intelligent design and discomfort with evolution.”
Anne Trudel
Head of Environment Health & Safety at TRIUMF – UBC’s particle accelerator – with a background in subatomic particle physics. Spoke for Cafe Scientifique.
Stephanie Van Dyk
UBC math and computer science undergraduate student and president of UBC Freethinkers 2012-13.
Nienke van Houten
Lecturer at SFU’s Faculty of Health Science and speaker and attendee for CFI Vancouver and Vancouver’s skeptic community.
Cafe Scientifique Vancouver host and inorganic materials chemistry PhD candidate.
A South Asian activist and writer with a focus on anti-racism, immigrant justice, Indigenous solidarity, feminism, and anti-imperialism. Works with No One is Illegal and other secular and human rights organizations.
Marilee Welch
Long-time volunteer and present interim Executive Director of Centre for Inquiry Vancouver.
Lorrie Williams
New Westminster City Councillor since 2002 and long-time member of the BCHA. Founded the Canadian Harambee Education Society which sponsors education for girls in East Africa. A BC marriage commissioner.
Mary Lynn Young
Associate Professor of Journalism at UBC. Founder of FeministMediaProject.com and frequent commentator on media and policy issues.
Additions (5 August 2013)
Bif Naked
Musician, born in India, raised multi-religious in Manitoba. Breast cancer survivor living in Vancouver.
Andrea Reimer
Vancouver city councillor and atheist.
Heather Deal
Vancouver city councillor and biologist.
Elizabeth Ball
Vancouver city councillor, opposed purchase of Vancouver Centre for Performing Arts by conservative church.
Jane Sterk
Leader of the Green Party of BC, spiritual but not religious.
Desiree Schell
Host of Edmonton’s Skeptically Speaking, union organizer, former Vancouver resident, and all around awesome human being.
Others
Additionally, half of the present BCHA Board of Directors are women and many of our members and the various women of the Vancouver skeptic community (Jules, Julia, Mel, Danielle, Chantelle, Lara, etc.) also deserve to be on this list. Also check out the Tarksheel Cultural Society of Canada, which promotes Rationalism in the Punjabi and Indian communities. And of course my wife.
There’s countless others I could probably include in this list but wasn’t entirely sure of whether they would consider themselves secularists (despite commitments to human rights). This includes people such as most of the women in UBC’s Faculty of Law (such as Dean Mary Anne Bobinski, multicultural expert L. Michelle LeBaron, Chair in Feminist Legal Studies Susan B. Boyd, Margot Young, or Mary Liston); the women of UBC and SFU’s Department of Physics and Faculties of Science; any number of female nonprofit executives (like YWCA Vancouver’s Janet Austin, Options for Sexual Health’s Jennifer Breakspear, the Portland Hotel Society’s Liz Evans, or Vancity’s Tamara Vrooman); local philanthropists (like Alison Lawton); the various feminist scholars and activists in Vancouver (like Veronica Fynn); or numerous other BC politicians (like Adriane Carr, Carole James, Dawn Black, Dianne Watts, or Suzanne Anton).
Feel free to add others below, I will update this page as appropriate. There’s no shortage of voices in Canada’s least religious, most diverse, and arguably most activist province.
]]>Women represent just 11 per cent of board members on companies listed on the S&P/TSX composite index, which represents large publicly traded Canadian companies.
…
Among the TSX-composite-listed companies, 42 per cent have no women on the boards of directors, while 28 per cent had just one female board member.
While we’re doing marginally better than the United States, even the Nordic countries still lack gender parity on their corporate boards. Norway leads with 36%, Finland and Sweden each have 26%.
Meanwhile, the past decade has been increasingly harsh toward aboriginals, who make up an increasing proportion of our prison population.
The correctional investigator pointed to what he called "alarming" statistics.
"There are just over 3,400 aboriginal men and women making up 23 per cent of the country’s federal prison inmate population," Sapers said.
"In other words, while aboriginal people in Canada comprise just four per cent of the population, in federal prisons nearly one in four is Métis, Inuit, or First Nations."
Sapers found almost 40 per cent increase in the aboriginal incarcerated population between 2001-02 and 2010-11.
I guess I don’t really have any good news here. Also, this weekend is an hour shorter.
]]>After word of this was picked up by the pro-choice community, a counter-protest was hastily thrown together, but managed to attract a similar sized crowd to the pro-lifers. We ended up out-lasting the pro-lifers, both in terms of energy and time on the Art Gallery steps.
Cars were generally supportive of us, with a number honking in support of women’s rights.
Take a look through the photos below for more.
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New Abortion Caravan Counter Protest
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So the Elders have spoken. Carter, Mandela, Tutu, Robinson and the others present a formidable counterweight to blind tradition. They are immensely respected for their achievements and their integrity. They say that they are fully committed to the realization of equality and empowerment for all women and girls. They call upon all leaders, religious and secular, to promote and protect those inalienable rights. Theirs is a powerful message.
Catholics, Baptists, Muslims and more are explicitly named by the group which includes Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and more.
The United Church allowed women pastors in 1936 but Stephen Harper’s Christian and Missionary Alliance had been debating the issue for over 20 years.
Is there really still a debate as to whether women are equal to men in society?
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