Equitable Letters for Space Physics

Equitable Letters in Space Physics (ELSP) is an organization that aims to encourage merit-based recommendations and nominations in the space physics community by providing resources and reviews. Recommendation and award nomination letters are a known source of bias that affect education and job opportunities, career progression, and recognition for scientists from underrepresented backgrounds. ELSP was founded to mitigate this bias within the current system by providing a proof-reading service that focuses on identifying phrasing and structure within letters that unintentionally undermines the purpose of the recommendation or nomination. If you are writing a recommendation letter for someone you know professionally, you can send it to us and we will send it out to our reviewers. They will provide recommendations on how you can make your letter more equitable and less biased, using a combination of the techniques and resources described on our site, with the aim to make unbiased recommendation letters more accessible to all. If you are interested in being a reviewer or having your writing reviewed, please reach out to us. We're a relatively young initiative and are keen to engage with and involve many diverse voices. Our website with more information, sample letters, and other resources can be found at https://equitableletterssp.github.io/ELSP/