Wednesday, Dec. 1, the Institute for Integrative Conservation’s (IIC) Student Leadership Council held their inaugural event “Trailblazing Women in Conservation.” The webinar, which was also livestreamed on Zoom, featured a panel of women who have made considerable contributions to the world of conservation and have consequently helped pave a pathway for underrepresented and marginalized voices to be heard within the realm of environmental and climate discourse.
The panelists included Dr. Mara Dicenta and Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo, who are both assistant professors at the College of William and Mary, and Senior Gender Advisor at Conservation International Kame Westerman.
Katie Ridder ’24, a conservation major at the College, introduced the panel and facilitated the initial discussion with the panelists, starting with a discussion about their backgrounds in conservation.
Obasanjo, an assistant professor of public health, started in the workforce as a veterinarian. She became interested in conservation after discovering the importance of the spread of diseases amongst wildlife and humans. Obasanjo then earned a doctorate in epidemiology.
“For me, I see that nature and having animals around us is a part of that wellbeing, is a part of that ability to do well and thrive,” Obasanjo said.
Dicenta, an assistant anthropology professor, started her journey in social work and started learning about conservation when she visited her home country of Argentina to learn about the eradication of beavers in Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia. Because Argentina had historically been involved in the attempted eradication of subversive people in the 1970s, Dicenta was particularly impacted by this concept of extermination within Argentinian conservation dynamics.
“I was shocked how our scientists were willing to eliminate an entire species,” Dicenta said, “…it became complicated, and I realized that conservation is about everything, about caring for nature but also trying to restore histories of colonialism and injustice, because conservation has always been linked to colonialism.”
After discussing their respective backgrounds, the panelists spoke about their professional careers, and the trajectory they took to get to where they are today. Westerman discussed her time in the Peace Corps, operating in Madagascar for about five years working on community based forestry, food security and marine enclosures. While working with a group of representatives to discuss octopus harvesting and enclosures, she noticed the lack of women as primary octopus harvesters within the discussion.
“Gender is so infused into how power and decision making happens … it wasn’t until that moment that I really, truly understood just how deeply embedded gender is in conservation and governance,” Westerman said.
“Gender is so infused into how power and decision making happens … it wasn’t until that moment that I really, truly understood just how deeply embedded gender is in conservation and governance,” Westerman said.
Obasanjo said her passion for conservation was borne out of her love of human health, and she emphasized the importance of having different perspectives and voices within her field.
“The idea that you cannot make people healthy without having nature being part of what makes up their well-being,” Obasanjo said, “… everything is related to one another…my passion for conservation is really a passion for people, for people to lead better lives.”
The discussion then led to an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the field of conservation. Westerman began by talking about the growing body of research focused on linking gender inclusiveness to conservation outcomes.
“What it really points to is gender inclusiveness leads to better governance,” Westerman said, “So it’s sort of indirect, the conservation outcome.”
Westerman also emphasized that though this research is important, there has not been enough research done to make a distinct link between DEI, gender and conservation outcomes because there are many other factors that have not been studied. Obasanjo also weighed in, mentioning ways in which she thinks inclusion is important in these conversations.
“The people most affected by the destruction of nature, which are usually poor people and minority people, need to be the ones at the table in the discussion, and, for me, I don’t see that often enough,” Obasanjo said, “…if you are not at the table, you’re the one being eaten.”
The discussion moved to the topic of barriers the panelists had faced while working in conservation. Dicenta mentioned that, as a social scientist and woman, she had not been heard in discussions with men. She also emphasized the importance of keeping one’s individuality when starting work in a male dominated space.
“I did my PhD in an engineering school with one of the lowest diversity rates in the US…it was really tough and I had just moved to the U.S.,” Dicenta said, “so I was not heard at the time because I didn’t speak the language, and I don’t mean English, but the language of cultural jokes and the language of social capitals.”
Westerman acknowledged her privilege as a white woman in this space, and mentioned that she has spent most of her career helping to support underrepresented women build their conservation leadership.
“I think really focusing on indigenous and rural women…there’s so much knowledge and they are so critical to the fabric of society, and yet, unfortunately, because of patriarchal societies and other sort of structural barriers, they’re just not able to engage in the same way that men might be able to, or that non-indigenous people are able to,” Westerman said.
In terms of advice for current seniors looking to join the conservation field, Obasanjo encouraged students to be hopeful.
“If the first opportunity that comes your way is not the job in conservation you want, or it’s not even in conservation at all, get in it and use it to get the skills that will move you to that job and seeing how you can then network that skill you gained into a job in conservation,” Obasanjo said.
“If the first opportunity that comes your way is not the job in conservation you want, or it’s not even in conservation at all, get in it and use it to get the skills that will move you to that job and seeing how you can then network that skill you gained into a job in conservation,” Obasanjo said.
“The people that are rocking it in conservation are more and more women,” Dicenta said, “…conservation is made by everyone, it shouldn’t just be these white men.”
To Westerman, conservation is not as simple as counting trees.
“It’s about the people that depend on the trees and live around the trees,” Westerman said.
Westerman believes that getting hands-on experience with organizations like AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps is essential to success within the conservation field.
Obasanjo helped wrap up the discussion by emphasizing the importance of minority women in conservation, mentioning that many students in her classes could not name the first woman of color to win a Nobel Peace Prize for a topic within the field of conservation, Dr. Wangari Maathai.
“People don’t talk about minority women in the public space that worked in conservation,” Obasanjo said, “…most minorities and people of color, when they hear conservation, they think that the people want to keep the world for themselves…what we need is the voices, the ideas, the people because everyone’s unique experiences are different.”
