MIT tells prospective faculty how to write a successful diversity statement

When universities began requiring diversity statements for prospective faculty, it was inevitable that sites would pop up telling you how to write one. The MIT Communication Lab has a site that covers not only the format of your statement, but also the content.

Although I was a political activist in college, I can't write a statement like MIT suggests. I would be flipping burgers now if this had been a critical criterion in my application. People who have read these requirements have said the same thing. Who would write a book about speciation?

DEI statements are important. The MIT site doesn't say this.

A diversity statement alone is unlikely to get you an interview or a job offer, but a well-written diversity statement may enable you to stand out among a large pool of qualified candidates.

In places like Berkeley, you have no chance of getting a job if your diversity statement isn't up to snuff. You need to start doing social-justice work before you apply for a job because you have to talk about your efforts to increase diversity. Students who have immersed themselves entirely in quantum mechanics or classical literature out of love of the field and of knowledge are in for a rude awakening. Those people are doomed if they don't have a track record in promoting diversity.

I don't object to universities encouraging diversity efforts as a way to broaden a candidate, but there are many other ways to be broad. General outreach to high schools, writing popular books and articles on your field, doing an internship at a newspaper, and so on are some of the things you can do. If you want to show your history of fighting for equity, you need to show it. Stanley Fish said that he would save the world on his own.

DEI statements may not be legal. It was pointed out by my colleague Brian Leiter that such required statements may constitute illegal discrimination. He notes that.

I recommend that those applying for jobs in the University of California system say only this in the diversity statement:  “I decline to supply this statement which constitutes illegal viewpoint discrimination in violation of my constitutional rights.”   There are already lawyers gearing up to bring legal challenges; I hope they act soon.   If you have been rejected from a University of California search, and suspect it was on grounds of insufficient ideological purity about “diversity,” please get in touch with me.  I can connect you with one public interest legal organization looking for plaintiffs.

Back to the MIT recommendations from this website.

There is a breakdown of how you should divide your diversity activities.

You need to have studied DEI extensively and have a good track record of advancement. They don't recommend a reading list.

All quotes are in italics.

Identify your purpose:

A faculty application diversity statement is NOT a document explaining how you as a candidate are diverse. While it is fine to include personal stories if they have informed how you think about diversity, this should not be the main focus of the statement. Rather, a diversity statement is an opportunity to show that you care about the inclusion of many forms of identity in academia and in your field, including but not limited to gender, race/ethnicity, age, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, and ability status.

You have to show how much you care, not about the field itself, but about mentoring and gathering in people who are different not in viewpoint but in disability status, age, and so on.

You need to know your onions.

As such, a diversity statement should not focus on your own experience but rather your intentions as a professor. It should demonstrate that you are familiar with the importance of DEI issues, outline your experience working with diverse groups and advancing DEI, and identify ways that you will use your position as a leader in your field to have an impact within your community.

That's right! There is a reading list.

Demonstrate knowledge of DEI:

As such, a diversity statement should not focus on your own experience but rather your intentions as a professor. It should demonstrate that you are familiar with the importance of DEI issues, outline your experience working with diverse groups and advancing DEI, and identify ways that you will use your position as a leader in your field to have an impact within your community. . .

Demonstrate experience with DEI:

It is not sufficient to demonstrate knowledge about diversity, equity, and inclusion; your statement should also show experience with them. While this need not be a separate section, your statement should make it clear that you have not only thought about DEI in the abstract but have applied that knowledge and are prepared to continue doing so in the future.

You will have to do more than say you will treat all students with equal effort and respect in order to get your application thrown out. You need to be specific about what you will do to promote equity. MIT is writing the application for you at this location.

You can't just say "I'll treat my students equally, regardless of gender, disability, ethnicity, age, and so on" In order to act as a psychologist to your students, you have to attend orientations and recruitment events. I don't understand the difference between "inclusive of women" and "striving for gender parity" but that's how it works so you'd better be on board.

The site advises to be specific in what you say, but it is just that they are telling you what to say. It might be difficult to find someone with that standing. We will see when it will.

By the way, you can see a successful example of a diversity statement published on MIT Communications' web page, with the useful parts highlighted.

Luana.