Diversity and inclusion in academic research computing at PEARC17. Presentation by Lisa Arafune (CASC), Florence Hudson (Internet2), Kelly Nolan (Compute Canada), Sharon Broude Geva (University of Michigan), John Towns (NCSA)

1. @kl
1
@kellyprexpert
@computecanada.ca
knolanhutchison@gmail.com
kelly.nolan@computecanada.ca

2. Expanding Diversity and Inclusion in Advanced
Research Computing

3. Canada’s Only National Provider of Shared Essential Digital Research
Infrastructure
● Compute Canada (CC) leads Canada’s national advanced research
computing (ARC) platform.
● There is no other major supplier in Canada.
● CC is a not-for-profit corporation. The membership includes 35 of
Canada’s major research institutions and hospitals.
● Funding is through a federal grant with matching funds from provincial
and institutional partners (40% federal / 60% provinces and institutions),
which is the basis of the federated Canadian model.
● We provide shared services to over 11,000 researchers across Canada.
No fees. Large requests based on a merit-based access system.
●
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Serving Researchers in all Disciplines

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6. The Business Case
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● Chronic shortage of talent
● The growth in digital jobs has outpaced the overall economy in
the last two years by over 4 to 1,
● Shortage of 219,000 skilled IT workers by 2021 (Canada)
● International Competition for Talent

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Researchers by Discipline

11. ARC Researchers in Canada
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12. Diversity of Users
● First Nations = 22 users
● Visible Minorities = 722 users 11.32% (total 6380
respondents)
● Persons with disability = 42 (total 6380 respondents)
Approximately 11,000 users total
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Recognize the journey is different for
most outside the prominent culture

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17. Diversity and Inclusion 101
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● Prominent culture must be open to change
● Leaders must make this a key strategic objective
● Build safe work environments

18. Efforts Are Failing
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● Founding member of Women HPC
● Hosted networking, training, workshops and
engagement events
● Created WHPC profiles
● Enhanced Demographic Survey and
environmental scan
● Leveraged technical conferences as a platform to
increase awareness
Some Initial Steps For Compute Canada

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● Create diversity framework
● Make recruitment process blind
● Set firm diversity targets
● Recruit more diverse chairs, committee members
● Report annually on progress
Future Steps For Compute Canada

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● Eliminate 24 hr availability
expectations
● Pro-actively recruit diverse
candidates
● Describe job in terms of what
needs to be achieved
Proven Winning Strategies

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Implement blind
recruitment
Value different work
backgrounds and
approaches
Measure expertise more
broadly

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Some Initial Steps We Can All Do

30. Sources
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Womeninhpc.org
https://www.wct-fct.com/sites/default/files/utn_where_are_the_women_final_m
ay_30_2017.pdf
http://www.wiset.re.kr/eng/notice/pdf/Frantzana_Athina_Presentation_HigherE
dConf.pdf
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-psychological-safety-work-matters-dr-jacin
ta-m-jim%C3%A9nez
ICTC National Digital Talent Strategy
Center for Talent Innovation