Abstract

Black Lives Matter activism has drawn new attention to the lack of racial diversity within our own discipline of Earth science, and has reinvigorated calls to address embedded inequalities and racism. Earth science remains the least racially diverse of science disciplines, with little or no progress in the last 40 years. In order to meaningfully address these inequalities we need to recognise how the history of geology is wrapped up in the history of European colonialism, and to understand how the colonial legacy impacts many aspects of our work, from geological mapping to the exploitation of natural resources. I’ll talk about some ways in which we can apply decolonising approaches to our work, helping us all to work towards an inclusive and global Earth science.