An ALMA for everyone

Jul 25, 2023 | News | 2 comments

Tags: ALMA

☆☆☆☆☆

This week is the deadline to answer the Respect, Diversity and Inclusion (RD&I) survey, a key part of our roadmap as it will allow us to know what everyone thinks about these issues. As a previous step, we held talks at OSF and SCO, where we were able to deepen some visions among those who attended them.

“It is useful for each of us to learn or to give the necessary feedback to the institution, and for those who are in charge it is useful to listen to the workers. I think it is necessary for us to have these doors open to be inclusive, and to have an eye to see that we are not being exclusive,” says Jaime Vargas, ESO Fellow.

A necessary conversation for any organization, but even more so in ours, as it is constantly nourished from different countries and latitudes. That is why, for Víctor González, Software Engineer and president of Union 1, it is synonymous with strength. “In general, society is diverse and when seeking to deepen human knowledge, clearly the fact that it is representative of society will allow it to continue advancing in a better way”.

And to embrace these concepts in the workplace, it is critical to understand what we mean by diversity, equity and inclusion. In that sense, “inclusion is the really hard bit,” says NAOJ Fellow James Miley, “you need to make sure you do it for everyone and to make sure that they feel that they can participate and feel included, but also that you are stretching out to them and making an active effort to include them. That coaching needs to be through out the business and it needs to be obvious.”
That attitude is perceived as a big point to work on regarding the gender quota in our observatory, and in general, the role given to women in society. “I think it’s very obvious that women are doing the administrative work more often,” argues Yiqing Song, ESO-ALMA Fellow, “even if we think that we are in the 21st century, that everyone is equal and there is no difference between men and women, in observatories it is definitely very real.”
There are many challenges ahead of us in order to move forward. Elizabeth Humphreys, Head of the Science Operations Department, who from the beginning has been the driving force behind making these issues part of ALMA’s institutional policy, knows this. “In the strategic roadmap for RD&I at the JAO, we outlined many recommendations and goals. I hope that as many as possible of these can be implemented. An important recommendation, that is now going to happen, is that JAO staff will have access to an Ombuds for the first time. A representative employed by ALMA, who will facilitate everyone’s concerns on these issues.”

As Liz says, we will soon have a consultant to support us in the development of these policies at ALMA. And no doubt your responses in the RD&I survey will be a key input, so get involved! You have until July 31 to express your opinion on the subject.

*All the opinions were gathered in the context of the talks.
IF YOU LIKED THIS NEWSLETTER, COMMENT BELOW AND/OR SEND A GREETING TO THOSE WHO SHARED THEIR TESTIMONIALS IN THIS ARTICLE

2 Comments

  1. italo lemus
    italo lemus on July 26, 2023 at 7:55 pm

    abrir los ojos cada dia en esta aventura es extraordinario y si ademas aprendemos de cada uno, lo mejor de lo mejor…

    Reply
  2. Juande Santander-Vela
    Juande Santander-Vela on July 26, 2023 at 11:43 pm

    I’ve been almost 14 months at JAO since my contract start, and the human qualities of the team are astounding. And it is great to be able to learn from so many different points of view. Thanks everyone!

    Reply

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