Congratulations to the Women in Mathematics (WiM) committee, this year’s recipients of the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo’s (FAUW) 2025 Equity & Inclusivity Award. Established in 2012, the award “recognizes a member or affiliate of the University of Waterloo community whose actions have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to improving equity, inclusivity, and/or diversity at the University of Waterloo.”
The WiM committee exists to make create a more inclusive and diverse mathematics community, with a particular focus on outreach to women and gender minorities. The committee includes faculty representatives from across the Faculty of Mathematics as well as graduate and undergraduate volunteers. “As the WiM director, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the many individuals and groups whose support has been instrumental in making the WiM award possible,” says Dr. Yu-Ru Liu, professor of pure mathematics and director of WiM.
The award specifically recognizes the work of WiM’s three flagship programs: the Directed Reading and Research Program (DRP), the Ontario Graduate Mathematics Conference (OGMC), and the Navigating Your Careers Conference (NYC).
Women in Math members made connections at the Navigating Your Careers Conference
The DRP empowers undergraduate students who are underrepresented in math to gain exposure to new topics and research experience by pairing them with graduate mentors who learn supervisory and communication skills on a math project. “Participating in the DRP program has been transformative, motivating me to apply for graduate school despite not initially planning to do so,” says a 2023 undergraduate participant in the program.
The OGMC is an annual, student-led conference that brings together mathematics graduate students from across Ontario to share research, network and collaborate. The conference creates meaningful leadership opportunities for WiM students. Established last year, the OGMC provides early career researchers with a welcoming space to present their research while emphasizing the importance of diversity and inclusion in mathematics. “We were able to build a community as we not only discussed our research, but also got the chance to talk about our different experiences in graduate school,” says one 2025 attendee.
Finally, Navigating Your Careers is a yearly conference highlighting the contributions of women and gender minorities in STEM. The conference includes networking opportunities, panel discussions and workshops from academics and industry experts, helping participants explore potential career paths and emphasizing the collaboration that is possible between academia and industry. “The amount of uplifting and encouraging energy was inspiring, and it was awesome to be with such an amazing community of women,” says one 2025 participant.
Liu emphasizes that the award recognizes an enormous team effort, and that WiM’s activities would not be possible with the support of many people, including previous WiM chairs, Faculty unit heads, and the members of the Women in Math Advisory Committee. She particularly wants to thank Dr. Charmaine Dean, vice president, research & international, and Dr. Siv Sivaloganathan (in memoriam), former chair of Applied Mathematics, “for their exceptional support. Most importantly,” she says, “I would like to thank all current and former WiM committee members. This award is a testament to your commitment, hard work, and unwavering dedication.”