Linking departmental climate to the sense of belonging of chemistry graduate students and postdocs: evaluation and insights from the DCaDEI survey

Students from historically marginalized communities are not well represented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. While efforts have been taken to increase their participation in STEM through a top-down administrative approach, these efforts often overlook the unique climate within individual STEM departments, leading to ineffective interventions for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within each distinct community. The Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, created a survey to measure climate around DEI, which we refer to as the Departmental Climate around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DCaDEI) survey. We evaluated the DCaDEI survey following the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing and found that it can provide valid and reliable data for interpretation. Examination of the DCaDEI data revealed that graduate students and postdocs within the same chemistry department hold varying views about their DEI climate, ranging from slightly negative to very positive. It is very likely that these perceptions became more positive with continuous implementation of various DEI initiatives and interventions within the department. Furthermore, we found that a more positive departmental DEI climate leads to a higher sense of belonging among graduate students and postdocs, which is essential for their retention and success. The demonstrated validity and reliability of the data collected with the DCaDEI survey position it as a valuable instrument for assessing and longitudinally monitoring DEI climates in other chemistry departments. Leveraging DCaDEI data to inform data-driven DEI initiatives can help foster more inclusive academic chemistry environments that support the persistence and well-being of all students.