We value human diversity in all its richly complex and multi-faceted forms, whether expressed through race and ethnicity, culture, political and social views, religious and spiritual beliefs, language and geographic characteristics, gender, gender identities and sexual orientations, learning and physical abilities, age, and social or economic classes. We respect the value of every member of The Axon Lab, and everyone in the class is encouraged to share their unique perspective as an individual, not as a representative of any category. Multicultural and intercultural awareness and competencies are key leadership skills, and we intend to present material and classroom activities that respect and celebrate the diversity of thought, background, and experience. We would like to use your preferred language when addressing you, so please let us know if your preferred name (or the pronunciation of that name) differs from what we are using and we ask that each of you let us know your preferred gender pronouns. Your suggestions on how to incorporate diversity into the lab in a meaningful way are appreciated and encouraged.
As part of the scientific landscape, The Axon Lab engages in the dissemination system through publication, which has continually reflected the broader DEI concerns in the form of widespread citation inequity1. The Axon Lab is committed to counterbalancing those biases in their dissemination activity, and to taking actions toward ensuring our scientific outcomes contribute to closing the visibility gap that citation practices impose on women, black and indigenous people of color, and other minorities underrepresented within the literature.
The Axon Lab engages in Open Science as a means to make all the knowledge and data it generates accessible and reusable for anyone, effectively maximizing the resources available to the public and more importantly, people developing their careers in unprivileged circumstances and very limited budget and resources. All data and materials (mostly formalized as software) are to be made openly available under permissive licenses after having ensured the primary students and researchers carrying out the research have been properly credited (e.g., publication) or it is largely unlikely their work is at risk of being scooped. Beyond the maximal access principle, The Axon Lab abides by the pledge of the NiPreps Community regarding software licensing.
Gender bias in science faculty2, and more generally, in academia3, is a perhaps more pressing facet of this problem that requires immediate action. Beyond the internal Code of Conduct and DEI statement that stipulates how DEI is to be embraced by the lab members, The Axon Lab engages in affirmative action toward recruiting new personnel. The Axon Lab will enthusiastically encourage applications from women, BIPOC, and other minorities. To ensure the reception of a sufficiently diverse pool of candidates, search processes will remain open until a pre-specified minimal number of applications from underrepresented minorities. During search processes, we will make sure a safe environment is secured for them to freely and comfortably query for information, negotiate terms, and demonstrate their potential. Towards that, candidates will be handled with transparency, will get the questions and checks that will be run in advance, and hiring decisions will involve all other lab members.
