What a hectic day. I woke up to the news of an earthquake in my home state where most of my family live. Seven days earlier the World Health Organization had declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic. Two days earlier my university was shut down and all my classes were switched to an online format. The day ended with the National Weather Service issuing a tornado watch for the Texas county where I live.

The day was March 18 2020. I had trouble sleeping that night, but as the sky eventually started to change to light gray and the birds started to sing, I realized that life will continue on and I thought of Ben Harper’s lyrics: We must all have / The will to live / You got to have / The will to live.

I knew that I needed to think of ways I could help. Then on March 20th, the CEO of Emerald Publishing, Vicky Williams said in an email concerning the COVID-19 crisis, “The answers to this crisis will come from the incredible power, dedication and resilience of the research and public health community…” Vicky’s words made it clear to me that an important way I could help is through the pages of Emerald Publishing’s very first publication that started the company over a half century before: Management Decision.

My thoughts were cemented in the beginning of May, when the head of publishing at Emerald, Sally Wilson said in an email, “…we believe passionately in publishing research that makes a difference in the real world.” As such, Management Decision is creating a special issue entitled, “Management in Crisis: Viruses, Earthquakes, and Tornadoes, Oh My!”.

On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ workers are protected by the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This federal employment law bans discrimination in employment based on race, religion, national origin, or sex.

As a science that affects policies and practices within organizations, I-O psychology has long had a connection to this act and will continue to be instrumental as workplaces ensure these protected rights.

Several SIOP members recently shared their thoughts on the impact of this ruling and on the next steps for I-O science:

Given the considerable evidence that members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community face discrimination in the workplace, the extension of civil rights protections to cover sexual orientation and identity was clearly long overdue. Nevertheless, history teaches that outlawing discrimination is only the first step of many toward equal opportunity. As I-O psychologists, we must study this phenomenon to shed greater light on how it occurs, trace it as it evolves from more overt to covert forms (given its newfound uniform illegality), and identify evidence-based means of curtailing it in organizational settings. To paraphrase Sun Tzu’s Art of War, we must truly get to know this form of discrimination if we are to succeed in defeating it.

- Derek R. Avery, C. T. Bauer Chair of Inclusive Leadership, Bauer College of Business, University of Houston; SIOP Diversity and Inclusion Officer

I am encouraged by the recent Supreme Court ruling protecting LGBTQ workers from employment discrimination. Basic civil rights to work free from discrimination should not be up for debate, and this ruling suggests that, in the area of employment, our country is moving in the right direction toward continued progress in this area. This ruling is not only beneficial to LGBTQ applicants and employees, but also to companies as it allows for an increase of talent within our companies. Research from our field has shown that antidiscrimination laws protecting LGBTQ workers are effective at reducing discrimination. Scholars and practitioners in our field are well poised to help companies ensure compliance with this ruling through our expertise in areas such as reducing bias in testing, selection, and training. However, perhaps more exciting to me, is that I-O experts have the skills and opportunity to help companies track and mitigate subtler forms of bias and discrimination against LGBTQ employees, which can be just as harmful as the discrimination banned by the new court ruling, and we can also work with companies to develop policies that ensure inclusion of LGBTQ employees throughout the networks and ranks of companies.

- Enrica Ruggs, Assistant Professor of Management, Center for Workplace Diversity & Inclusion Director, University of Memphis

The Supreme Court's decision reflects the spirit of SIOP's policy statement and the work of D&I scholars and practitioners. I consider it a win for LGBTQ people and for employers who are working toward fair and inclusive organizations.

The deadline to pay your SIOP dues to avoid disruption in your membership benefits is June 30, 2020. If you have already paid your 2020-21 dues, thank you! If you haven’t paid yet, here is a quick reminder of all the things you will miss out on if you let your membership lapse!

If you wanted to attend the Master’s, Doctoral, or Junior Faculty Consortia, which were to be offered this year in Austin in April, then we have good news for you. The SIOP Consortia Committee has re-engineered these training sessions and they are now free to all eligible SIOP members.  Registration for the 2020 SIOP Virtual Consortia is required, and you must be up to date on your membership dues. The following provides some information for each track. Please consider registering and spread the word so that our colleagues can benefit from connecting with and receiving mentorship from other SIOP members.

The Doctoral Virtual Consortium offers two tracks: applied and academic. There will be a mix of synchronous and asynchronous sessions as well as two live networking events at the beginning and end of the consortia week. The Doctoral Consortia will be held during the week of July 6, 2020. If you have passed comprehensive exams, you are eligible to attend. No need to be nominated and no limit on the number of students per program. If you have question, please contact Emily Hunter (emily_m_hunter@baylor.edu) or Kate Keeler (keeler.79@osu.edu).

The University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education is offering a 100% online Online Graduate Certificate in Program Evaluation for educators and professionals, through which you will gain the skills needed to conduct high-quality, ethical, and actionable evaluations. Apply for Fall 2020 by Friday, June 19. Questions? Please email Dr. Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead at bianca@uconn.edu.