FINAL DRAFT FOR GATWS ADOPTION

FEBRUARY 2024

Georgia Chapter of The Wildlife Society IDEA

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Awareness Statement

The Georgia Chapter of The Wildlife Society (GATWS) values human diversity as a foundation of the Chapter’s identity and culture, philosophical framework, and operational priorities. We further strive to be an anti-discriminatory organization that identifies and removes barriers for individuals from underrepresented groups and all walks of life (based on race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief, ethnicity, education, economic status, employment, nationality, and physical or mental ability). We endorse and comply with The Wildlife Society’s Position Statement on Workforce Diversity within the Wildlife Profession (see attached at end of this statement). Whereas our chapter values Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness (IDEA), the GATWS currently remains characterized by a lack of diversity in our membership. With this statement, we convey our support for and commitment to IDEA values and provide approaches to implement IDEA strategies. Our statement acknowledges the importance of IDEA within our chapter and in our communications and collaborations with other TWS chapters, wildlife professionals, natural resources managers and scientists, and stakeholders including the public.

The GATWS will enact the following approaches to bolster efforts to enhance the operationalization of IDEA values:

  1. The GATWS will strive to increase diversity in our chapter, especially in areas where we lack significant representation. A committee will be formed to develop a process to survey members and determine appropriate metrics of improvement and success. Further, all GATWS committees will be charged with embracing IDEA efforts in their operations.
  2. The GATWS will support Student Chapter IDEA initiatives and aid development opportunities for student chapters to support the GATWS’s diversity work. The GATWS will collaborate with student chapters to recruit members to their chapters and state, regional, and national chapters.
  3. The GATWS will encourage and guide other Georgia universities to develop student chapters to help introduce and recruit a diversity of students around the state to a career in wildlife through an academic degree program. The GATWS may also work with universities and student chapters to develop collaborations with other organizations.
  4. GATWS members, in collaboration with the IDEA Committee, will attend and work with, or host workshops or other events at the annual conference that recognize and honor diversity.
  5. The GATWS will recruit diverse members to serve in leadership positions in the organization.
  6. The GATWS will diversify communications through the use of varied platforms to reach current and future members who rely on numerous communications platforms.