Statement of Support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) 2025
The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) reiterates its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The Executive Council and many members express profound concerns regarding recent statements and policies in opposition to DEI programs and initiatives by individuals and organizations within the current U.S.A. federal and state governments. Actions against DEI will harm practitioners, researchers, students, and countless individuals serving, and those being served, along with organizations and communities worldwide.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board
Throughout its history, ABAI has fostered a commitment to DEI. In 2019, this commitment culminated in the creation of the DEI Board. From drafting policies that address DEI across the organization to include dedicated programming for ABAI’s annual convention, the board has remained steadfast in its dedication to the principles and values of DEI. With the commitment and support of the Executive Council in forming this board and its ongoing work, DEI has remained a central tenet of ABAI’s strategic plan and actions. Now and into the future, the board has supported its members and the communities they serve, ensuring that the needs of those with diverse backgrounds, cultures, abilities, and identities are included.
Current Position Statements and Policies
As of May 2025, ABAI has made public statements regarding various aspects of DEI, which include:
When researching and choosing U.S.A. conference locations, ABAI considers how the rights of all individuals are respected in the candidate sites and avoids meeting in places that do not uphold these rights. This review includes examining the most current Municipal Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign. ABAI aims to ensure safety, accessibility, and inclusion to the maximum extent possible. When selecting locations for non-U.S.A. conferences, ABAI is also committed to diversity.
Inclusive and Diverse Event Programming
ABAI’s annual convention brings together behavior analysts and professionals from related disciplines from around the world. To bring attention to DEI-specific offerings, a diversity designation was created, which specifically addresses issues of access (e.g., higher education, services) of marginalized groups, behavioral science research that is concerned with topics such as implicit bias in scientific research, interventions that aim to ameliorate the effects of systemic bias, or analyses of discriminatory behavior of both individuals and systems. In 2025, the program included 70 presentations (workshops, invited events, panels, paper sessions, posters, and symposia) with the diversity designation. There were registrants from 56 countries, presenters from 50 countries, and ABAI-affiliated chapter representatives from 30 countries. This emphasis on diversity in event programming ensures that ABAI provides a true reflection of the membership and community it serves, and that it also promotes and disseminates diverse perspectives.
Celebrating Scholarly Excellence in DEI
ABAI recognizes diverse scholars in several ways, seeking to distinguish, reward, and promote achievements that have a documented impact on DEI. By actively seeking and recognizing diverse voices, ABAI has encouraged underrepresented perspectives. The Distinguished Contributions to DEI Award highlights the central role of DEI in the success of individuals and institutions. Additionally, the Scholarly Contributions to DEI Paper Competition provides an outlet designed to encourage, promote, and reward behavior analytic scholarship on DEI-focused topics and issues, with up to two student papers and one professional paper selected annually. For those seeking grant opportunities, the Society for the Advancement for Behavior Analysis (SABA), a charitable partner to ABAI which provides financial support for the field of behavior analysis, supports several grant opportunities related to DEI work. The Innovative Student Research Grant supports empirical studies and demonstration projects directly related to DEI. Preference is given to substantive projects that evaluate the impact of DEI efforts in community or organizational settings. SABA also offers an International Development Grant. This grant supports individuals or organizations interested in developing or disseminating behavior analysis internationally. Finally, to encourage annual convention attendance by non-U.S.A. students, members donate funds to the SABA Senior Student Presenter fund, which supports the registration fee for the annual convention, with priority given to students from outside the United States. By recognizing those individuals and organizations currently doing superb work in DEI and supporting the work of those just starting in the field, ABAI and SABA encourages the current landscape of DEI while also looking to the future.
Diversity in Education
ABAI reaffirms its commitment to supporting DEI in training programs. ABAI will continue to develop and implement inclusive and accessible practices and remain steadfast in our commitment to equity, diversity, and accessibility in education.
As recent political and economic pressures have led some to reconsider their DEI commitments, we recognize that this is a challenging time for these efforts, not just within our field, but in institutions and organizations across the United States and abroad. However, we are firmly committed to advocating for our members, students, and community, as it is not only the right thing to do but is essential for fostering inclusive environments. We remain steadfast in our dedication to these principles and will continue to champion diverse voices and the needs of our field.