Katherine Ensor

Learning from our members was how 2020 ASA President Wendy Martinez described the goal of the Anti-Racism Task Force. In this month’s column, I want to share with you how we met that goal and how we will move forward. The task force, which was co-chaired by Adrian Coles and David Marker, had the following three primary objectives:

• Develop recommendations for ASA infrastructure and policy that will help drive positive cultural change within the ASA and remove structural barriers to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Develop recommendations that ensure the communications and activities of the association’s groups align with its position on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Propose mechanisms for the association to inform the public about how statistics and data science can contribute to—or, if used responsibly, help fight against—racial and ethnic bias in society

The task force’s final report was presented to the ASA Board at its April meeting, and Adrian and David were guests on the Practical Significance podcast. This topic is so important that I wanted to amplify their voices in this column by highlighting excerpts from the podcast.

Members of the task force worked for more than 18 months so, at the beginning of the podcast, Adrian and David reflect on the insights they gained.

Adrian: Even before I share my insights and some of my own personal reflections, I do want to acknowledge the rest of the team. Anything we’ve been able to accomplish as a task force is only due to the hard work and commitment of all those professionals who signed up to be part of this journey.

As a member of a historically marginalized community, this work has reminded me that grace and action can coexist. There are some of us who may be a bit farther down the road when it comes to racial progress and, more broadly, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in general. However, there will always be the need to go back up. Those who are advancing a bit slower, and that requires grace, that’s okay. And so, in this setting, when we’re talking about our professional association, grace is necessary.

David: Let me start by seconding Adrian’s comment about the wonderful task force that we had and the way we worked together really nicely. 

I think one of the biggest findings that came out of this for me was that there’s just this incredible breadth to our profession. It’s involved in so many activities that affect not only our professional lives, but our roles in society. And that provides a wide range of potential anti-racist applications.

The executive summary of the report provided an overview of the recommendations:

• Governance, Structure, and Operations: The association should revise the constitution, bylaws, strategic plan, code of conduct, and data-collection policies to embed its value for racial-ethnic equity into its governing framework and organizational structure. 
• Communications and Publications: The association should create a more inclusive publications process and diverse team; publicly acknowledge and take accountability for the presence and impact of racism in the association’s past; and better convey its commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion on outward-facing communications platforms. 
• ASA Events and Partnerships: The association should continue to prioritize partnerships with organizations that have demonstrated a shared value for racial-ethnic equity and ensure that participation in association-sponsored/organized events are free of racial-ethnic bias. 
• Funding and Institutional Support: The association should fully support initiatives intended to create positive outcomes for members of historically underrepresented racial-ethnic groups and to grow this segment of its membership.
• Awards and Recognition: The association should create policies and programs to ensure all groups, particularly historically underrepresented racial-ethnic groups, have fair and equitable access to participation in the association’s award and recognition experience.
• External Influence: The association should influence the development of policies that prioritize racial-ethnic equity; racial-ethnic equity in statistical education and research; and the responsible, ethical, and anti-racist use of statistics and data science.

Adrian provided more insight into the Governance, Structure, and Operations recommendation.

Adrian: I think, first and foremost, we understand that how we govern ourselves and how we describe the way we want to govern ourselves—our documents and other components of that governing framework—would be a major contributor to the culture established within the organization. As we continue to lean into this value for diversity, equity, and inclusion—particularly along racial and ethnic lines—we recognize it is important to make sure our governing framework captures that value. Having this value clearly reflected in the constitution, the strategic plan, and all our governing documents is going to be a huge part of the journey ahead to reach our anti-racism vision.

David was incredibly involved in thinking about the external influence portions of the report. He shared these comments about why they are important.

David: It’s very easy for a professional organization like the ASA to focus on the internal side of things. The nourishing of a next generation of statisticians, data scientists, and biostatisticians is vitally important, but statistics, biostatistics, and data science have such a large impact on society that we really need to address the effect we can and should have through the use of statistics. 

The ASA is not only well-situated to lead, but I think it must lead. There isn’t anyone else who is going to address this.

In closing, I would like to acknowledge and thank previous presidents Wendy Martinez and Rob Santos, as well as the boards they led, for moving this important effort forward. We want to continue to “learn from our members,” so please read the report and offer feedback. We will only be successful in moving forward if our entire community is involved.