Conveners
(DPE/DGEP) W2-5 Engaging Diverse Audiences | Attirer des publics diversifiés (DEP/DEGP)
- Ania Harlick (University of Toronto)
Post-secondary science courses, including physics, have a role to play in supporting equity and inclusion in STEM. The extent to which our courses have equitable outcomes influences which doors are open or closed, and to whom, and ultimately determines if we can address the need for diverse teams of skilled scientists and citizens to devise and implement effective solutions. The Canadian...
The Innovation, Diversity, Exploration, and Advancement in STEM (IDEAS) Initiative is a national EDI-focused outreach program run out of Queen’s University. IDEAS utilizes a multi-generational approach to outreach, aiming to coordinate historically under-represented individuals within STEM in fostering an interest towards the natural sciences in Canadian youths. The IDEAS Initiative has run an...
While tremendous progress has been made, women and other gender minorities remain largely underrepresented in the Canadian physics community, a problem which first manifests at the high school level. All efforts to narrow the gender gap at the undergraduate level and beyond will continue to be hampered by the lack of gender diversity in students with the necessary prerequisites for a physics...
Because physics is one of few STEM fields that has yet to successfully address its gender and diversity gaps, there is work to be done to encourage different types of people to pursue physics as a degree. Part of the responsibility for this work rests with undergraduate physics professors and teaching staff, whose influence on students is profound. One question that has not been adequately...