Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Statement for the International Society for the Linguistics of English (ISLE)
Recognising that systemic inequalities and discrimination exist in higher education more broadly as well as in our discipline, the ISLE Executive Committee is committed to fostering accessible, inclusive, equitable, and respectful environments for learning and scholarship. Given our international membership profile, diversity is integral to ISLE. We value individual differences and want to ensure that no-one is at a disadvantage because of who they are or where they happen to be from.
As such, we seek to enable all members to achieve their full potential in an environment characterised by equality of respect and opportunity. To that end, we aim to ensure that:
- Nominations for elected Executive Officers are handled by a Nominating Committee. They work separately from the Executive Committee and consider matters of equality, diversity and inclusion when suggesting nominees.
- The entire body of ISLE members is invited to vote in the elections for Executive Officers.
- Entrants for ISLE’s Hogg Prize are anonymous during the judging phase.
- Our conferences and Summer Schools take place in accessible physical locations with appropriate access points for those with additional access needs. Closed captioning will be enabled for the live transcription of virtual presentations delivered during ISLE events.
- EDI issues are considered when inviting speakers at ISLE sponsored events.
- Hybrid formats for ISLE sponsored events will be considered (i.e. registration is for either in-person or virtual participation). This flexibility enhances inclusivity (e.g. for those with caring responsibilities or who wish to participate from a range of different time-zones and who would thus be excluded by wholly synchronous, in-person events).
- Matters of diversity, inclusion, and access will be at the forefront of the selection process for ISLE Summer School bursaries. Scholars who have not yet earned their PhD will be prioritized as will participants from groups which are significantly underrepresented in English Linguistics (e.g. based on characteristics of class, gender, location in a Low to Middle Income Country, race, first generation higher education and so on).
Prof. Karen Corrigan (President of ISLE), 6th April 2023
(on behalf of the ISLE Executive Committee)