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Gender equity, providing for full participation of people of all genders in the oceanographic workforce, is an important goal for the continued success of the oceanographic enterprise. Here, we describe historical obstructions to gender equity; assess recent progress and the current status of gender equity in oceanography by examining quantitative measures of participation, achievement, and recognition; and review activities to improve gender equity. We find that women receive approximately half the oceanography PhDs in many parts of the world and are increasing in parity in earlier levels of academic employment. However, continued progress toward gender parity is needed, as reflected by metrics such as first-authored publications, funded grants, honors, and conference speaker invitations. Finally we make recommendations for the whole oceanographic community to continue to work together to create a culture where oceanographers of all genders can thrive, including eliminating harassment, reexamining selection and evaluation procedures, and removing structural inequities. 

Geoscience is plagued with structural and systemic barriers that prevent people of historically excluded groups from fully participating in, contributing to, and accruing the benefits of geosciences. A change in the culture of our learning and working environments is required to dismantle barriers and promote belonging, accessibility, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in our field. Inspired by a session organized at the 2020 Ocean Sciences Meeting, the goal of this paper is to provide a consolidated summary of a few innovative and broadening participation initiatives that are being led by various stakeholders in academia (e.g., students, faculty, administrative leaders) at different institutional levels (e.g., universities, professional societies). The authors hope that the strategies outlined in this paper will inspire the coastal, ocean, and marine science community to take individual and collective actions that lead to a positive culture change.