Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Group

The Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research (SCAR) is committed to promoting a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion. With open minds, we aim to listen, engage in dialogue, and create meaningful change that will enrich our community with a wide range of voices, backgrounds, languages, experiences, and perspectives. The Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Action Group (EDI AG) is tasked with broadly looking at how EDI issues can be effectively dealt with within SCAR, and what practical actions are relevant for the organisation. SCAR expects all parts of the organisation and community to actively engage with these issues and, where necessary, consult the action group for guidance.

We acknowledge that we must be both reactive and proactive in our efforts to promote EDI, and we will work together to create an environment where all individuals feel valued, supported, and empowered to contribute to scientific research and leadership. We recognize that historic and systemic inequalities have excluded many individuals and communities from participating in scientific research, and as a result in leadership roles within SCAR, and we commit to understand where these inequalities continue to exist and to tackle them, whilst fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect, where every voice is heard and every contribution is celebrated.

SCAR will continue to work to build a more inclusive and representative community that reflects the diversity of the world we explore. We recognize that we must engage with the SCAR community and our spheres of influence to affect meaningful change. By working together, we can create a more equitable and inclusive future for Antarctic science and beyond.

The group is led by an inaugural senior leadership team, supported by a Leadership Steering Group (LSG). To contact the team, please email.

Senior Leadership Team

Chief Officer – Dr Adriana María Gulisano
Adriana is a Research Scientist and Head of the Atmospheric Sciences Department at the Argentine Antarctic Institute. She has been involved in numerous SCAR events and Expert Groups, serving as Deputy Chief Officer of SCAR’s Physical Sciences Standing Group and as a member of SCAR’s GNSS Research and Application for Polar Environment Expert Group. She also has held numerous other scientific leadership positions and is a member of several scientific organizations in Latin America and worldwide.

Deputy Chief Officer – Dr Jilda Caccavo
Jilda is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute Pierre-Simon Laplace in France. She has been an active member of the polar community since 2016, and has had leadership roles in APECS, MEASO, and SOOS, in addition to being involved in numerous SCAR activities throughout the years, including her current role on the SRP Ant-ICON Steering Committee. Throughout these roles she has endeavored to promote EDI, and she is excited to support the Action Group to achieve its EDI goals within SCAR and the wider polar community.

Coordinator / Secretary (interim) – Dr Inga Beck ([email protected])
Inga works for SCAR since 2022 and is mainly responsible for the EDI AG where she also serves as the representative of SCAR CBET. Inga’s educational background is in physical Geography and she did her PhD about permafrost in the Arctic. Since many years her focus is on science communication and education, as well as on the organization of projects.
Inga also represents SCAR as co-chair at the Research Priority Topic 6 of ICARP IV.