A paper has been published in Nature Geoscience on Strategies for making geoscience PhD recruitment more equitable, following on from the findings of the Equator project, of which the IES was a Steering Group member. The paper includes recommendations for improving equity in recruitment for doctoral training programmes. An open access version of the article is available.

Equator, a NERC-funded project led by Sheffield Hallam University, sought to develop evidence-based interventions targeting barriers to ethnic minority participation and retention in Geography, Earth and Environmental Science (GEES) postgraduate research. The project involved collaborations between academic institutions, professional bodies, grassroots organisations, and the public sector. GEES research is one of the least ethnically diverse disciplines in the global north, with representation at senior levels particularly poor. Systemic, structural change is needed to properly address this issue, with interventions required at multiple levels.

This project focused on improving recruitment and retention of ethnic minorities in GEES postgraduate research through three targeted work packages:

• Working group – to better understand the varying processes involved in the admissions cycle. Through group discussions, workshops, and a survey, a set of evidence-based recommendations for admissions processes were devised to improve ethnic minority representation in the postgraduate geoscience student population.
• Research school – a 5-day residential workshop for ethnic minority researchers, designed to improve role model visibility, facilitate network-building, create equitable access to training, enhance application success, and strengthen the sense of belonging in GEES postgraduate research (PGR) participants.
• Mentoring network – a ring-fenced initiative to increase retention into postgraduate research (PGR) and improve student experience.

A host of resources are available on the Equator website for those interested in finding out more, including 'How to guides' on aspects of the project to support change across the sector. Following the success of the Equator project, Equator 2.0 launched in 2023 to sustain the mission to enhance equity and inclusion in GEES disciplines and is being led by the University of Birmingham.