On Tuesday, Stanford launched its first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) survey. As part of the IDEAL initiative, the survey focuses on the individual experiences of community members at Stanford. It includes questions about race/ethnicity and other identities, experiences of inclusion in the workplace or academic program, as well as questions about experiences with harassing or discriminatory behavior.

All current faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, students in professional programs, postdoctoral scholars, staff and academic staff are eligible to take the survey. A survey of this scale, reaching the broad spectrum of the campus community, is unprecedented at Stanford.

All Stanford community members who are eligible to take the survey will receive an email with an individualized survey link during the week of May 10. This link is unique to the recipient and cannot be shared or forwarded to others. Those who did not receive a link to the survey and think they should have, should send an email to ideal_deisurvey@stanford.edu.

The intention of the survey is to offer the opportunity for all Stanford community members to voice their own experiences at Stanford. Responses will inform the actions the university takes to reach its goal of a more inclusive and equitable university.

In an email to the Stanford community inviting participation Provost Persis Drell said, “I am committed to using the findings from this survey to help drive change in our community … It is important to hear from you, even if you believe these issues do not directly affect you. It is critical that we have the participation of as many students, postdocs, staff and faculty as possible.”

The university will be transparent in sharing the results from the survey. In fall 2021, all Stanford community members will have the opportunity to view a report, which will include extensive charts and tables summarizing the data.

Each person who submits a survey will receive a $10 gift card. Participants are not required to answer every question in the survey to receive the gift card. The survey will remain open through May 31.

For more about the content of the survey, how it was developed and how the research team plans to protect the privacy of individuals, visit the survey website.