To ensure that the Statistical Society of Australia is diverse, equitable and inclusive, the Society established an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee in March of 2021. This committee has been charged with making recommendations regarding how the SSA can ensure that it is a truly diverse and inclusive society.

The committee will be tasked with examining the processes and procedures already in place within the Society to determine what changes can be made to allow for greater diversity and inclusion, and making recommendations regarding those changes. Members of the committee are expected to serve for two years, and meetings take place every 6 weeks.

This committee is chaired by the current SSA President or nominee, and members are recruited from the SSA community.

The EDI committee consist of:

• Beth Firipis, Chair
• Katrina Scurrah, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Vice-Chair
• Ben Harrap, Yardhura Walani, Secretary

• Alanah Cronin (Lani), Griffith University, Member
• Atousa Grahramani, Victoria University, Member
• Jessica Kasza, Monash University, Member
• Christine Sommerville, University of Melbourne; Monash University, Member

A list of past members of the Committee can be found here. Position descriptions for the Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary roles are available here.

The EDI Committee is always looking for enthusiastic people to join the Committee. Please get in touch with Jessica Kasza, if you’d like more information.

If there are any equity, diversity and inclusion issues you’d like the SSA to address, please email EDI Secretary, or our General Manager. Any communication will be dealt with confidentially.  

Aims of the EDI Committee 

The key focus of the committee will be in the areas of diversity and inclusion within the SSA and Indigenous engagement. Some of these areas include:

• The SSA leadership team and representation on SSA committees is diverse and reflective of our Society (see https://statsoc.org.au/Governance). 
• The society provides a welcoming, respectful and inclusive environment for our members.
• SSA events are welcoming and accessible to everyone, including people who have caring responsibilities, and people who have disabilities.
• The SSA supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander statisticians and students with an interest in studying statistics.
• The SSA respects and acknowledges the contributions and history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• The SSA uses and analyse data from all populations, including from marginalised groups, responsibly.

The Committee’s work

• Developed a set of guidelines for Branches and Sections to help ensure events are accessible and inclusive. The guidelines are available here. Please note that the guidelines will be updated from time to time. The current version was developed in September 2022.
• The Committee developed a statement expressing the support towards the trans and gender diverse community within the SSA, and more broadly. The statement encourages all researchers to collect data on sex and gender in an inclusive way, and is available here.
• At the end of 2021, the Committee ran a survey seeking the views of statisticians in Australia on the Society and equity, diversity and inclusivity issues. The report outlining the results and the actions that the Society will take as a result of this survey is available here.