Over the last year, I’ve received several inquiries about whether Oceanography is planning to publish a third special issue on Women in Oceanography. The questions clearly arose because last year—2024—was the tenth anniversary of the second Women in Oceanography volume (published as a supplement to the main journal; https://tos.org/oceanography/issue/volume-27-issue-04-supplement). The first special issue on this topic was published in 2005 (https://tos.org/oceanography/issue/volume-18-issue-01). Both special issues included peer reviewed articles covering various aspects of gender equity in oceanography as well as hundreds of one-page autobiographical sketches contributed by women oceanographers. Some sketches in the second publication were updates of the original sketches contributed a decade earlier. One group of women oceanographers who inquired about a third special issue commented that “a bit to our surprise, we keep being asked about the [2014 Women in Oceanography] supplement. Even though the document is a decade ‘old,’ there seems to be a continuous interest in it.”

The question I pose to members of The Oceanography Society and colleagues: should Oceanography consider a third special issue on Women in Oceanography and, if so, what should it look like? Much interest remains in the publishing of autobiographical sketches of women oceanographers, as they are a source of inspiration to all. Might we focus on women at various career stages and learn more about their trials and triumphs at each stage? What has changed in two decades and what needs to change (see also a review by Legg et al., 2023).

Please send me your ideas and any other thoughts you may have on a possible third edition of Women in Oceanography. My email is [email protected].

– Ellen S. Kappel, Editor

Kappel, E.S. 2025. Women in oceanography: One more time? Oceanography 38(1):5.

1. Legg, S., C. Wang, E. Kappel, and L. Thompson. 2023. Gender equity in oceanography. Annual Review of Marine Science 15:15–39, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-032322-100357.

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