There's growing awareness of the lack of diversity in science and the presence of barriers to inclusion. What factors lead to disparities in representation? Why should we be motivated to effect change? What can we do to change things? Will our actions really make a difference?
This presentation will focus on ideas to challenge the status quo – actions to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). We will discuss recent research to illustrate and raise awareness of the many EDI challenges in science, then explore various practical ways to take action to advance EDI. These practical actions stem from our recently released "Science is For Everyone" Teaching toolkit, which provides an abundance of ideas to diversify science education and further support recruitment, retention, and advancement of all students. We will touch on the importance of diversifying content and talk about how Indigenous content is being brought into post-secondary science courses. Finally, we will give an overview of other exciting science EDI initiatives across research and academic life.
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About Candice Harris
Candice Harris holds a BSc Honours Neuroscience and Mental Health from Carleton University, along with a BA Honours in Psychology. Candice co-created the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Toolkit, and continues to develop new tools and ideas to foster equity within the Sciences at Carleton. Presently, she is also working with Indigenous Initiatives and the Faculty of Science to design several Collaborative Indigenous Learning Bundles. Previously, Candice has worked with the Department of Neuroscience at Carleton to write, illustrate, and animate an educational aid to help others better understand the neuroscience of addiction. She placed second at the Carleton Psychology Undergraduate Research Event with her research focused on technological treatments for anxiety disorders. In 2022, she received the Carleton University Provost Scholar Award for Undergraduate Science. For her most recent thesis, Candice explored the neurobiology of social interaction as it relates to novel treatment interventions for Substance Use Disorder. Candice is passionate about discovering and communicating the neurobiological reasons for behaviour to help reduce stigma, and enjoys creatively integrating different perspectives from varying academic disciplines to find innovative approaches to current challenges faced by science and academia.
About Rowan Thomson
Rowan Thomson is a Canada Research Chair and Professor of Physics at Carleton University where she is also Associate Dean (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) in the Faculty of Science. She holds a BSc Double Honours Mathematics and Physics from Carleton University. Her PhD research was in theoretical high-energy physics (Superstring Theory) at Perimeter Institute and the University of Waterloo, and was awarded Waterloo’s Pearson Medal. Post-PhD, Dr. Thomson’s research has focused on medical physics. Distinctions include Ontario’s Polanyi Prize in Physics (2011), Ontario Early Researcher Award (2015), Fellow of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (2020), and Member of the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists (2022). Professor Thomson has great enthusiasm for teaching and mentoring the next generations of scientists, and advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) is committed to fostering a welcoming environment and community for all people who engage in our mission to advance quantum information. We work to raise awareness, share resources, provide education and funding opportunities surrounding diversity initiatives, and promote an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture.