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HomeAccess and Community EmpowermentSIPS Diversity and Inclusion Council update: Celebrating neurodiversity, Women’s History Month and more

SIPS Diversity and Inclusion Council update: Celebrating neurodiversity, Women’s History Month and more

The SIPS Diversity and Inclusion Council is open to anyone in the SIPS community who would like to participate in building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community in our school.  New voices, viewpoints and energy are always welcome. Read more about the efforts of our working groups. Questions? Email: sips-dicouncil@cornell.edu.

 

March is Women’s History Month

The American Society of Agronomy is celebrating Women in Science this month  with these member spotlights, including a profile of Cornell Soil Health Lab manager Kirsten Kurtz.

Some Cornell resources:

 

Also this month

 

Celebrating Neurodiversity

From the Cornell AgriTech DEI Bulletin by Amara Dunn and Anna Katharine Mansfield:

Human beings engage with the world around us in a variety of ways, including how we think, communicate with each other, interact with each other, and take in information. The terms neurodivergent and neurodiverse are often used to describe people who engage with the world in ways that differ from those used by the dominant or majority culture, including people with ADHD, autism, or dyslexia. However, approaching the world differently is not a weakness or a disorder.

Neurodiversity recognizes that human brains all work differently, and emphasizes celebrating those differences, rather than describing some people as normal and others as abnormal. All ways of engaging the world – neurodivergent and neurotypical – come with both strengths and challenges. We all have superpowers. The norms around how we recruit, hire, and train employees can present barriers to neurodivergent people, but some companies are modifying their policies and practices to be more inclusive.

During Neurodiversity Celebration Week (March 13-19 this year), spend time learning about diverse ways of being and interacting with the world. Celebrate the unique strengths and talents of neurodiverse people and learn how to create more inclusive spaces where everyone belongs and can thrive.

Ways to celebrate neurodiversity:

Be curious. Read more about neurodiversity, including answers to some common questions. Learn about specific types of neurological differences and neurodiversity in the workplace. This short video offers a simple explanation of autism, which might be very informative for non-autistic young people in your life. This video (again, focused on autism, but with broader implications) describes the empathy gap that can exist when two people engage with the world in different ways.

You are not alone! The Learning Strategies Center at Cornell supports neurodivergent students. This year, they are offering a variety of activities (in Ithaca and on Zoom) for Neurodiversity Celebration Week. Some events are designed for people who identify as neurodivergent, while others can help us be more inclusive of neurodivergent colleagues or students. If you are a Cornell employee who identifies as neurodivergent, did you know that there is a Neurodivergent Employee Community at Cornell? They have a listserv and meet on Zoom every other week.

Support success for everyone. Do you know what helps your co-workers or supervisees be successful? Have you asked? It might be different from what helps you succeed. Simple things like offering a quiet space or noise-cancelling headphones can make a big difference.

At AgriTech, we grow things. We grow better things when we embrace the diverse ways we learn about the world around us and solve problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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