Carla Fehr

Change the world, not the women

Abstract: A wide range of benefits arises from increasing the diversity of science and technology research and development teams. Diversity drives innovation, improves the rigor of scientific research, and leads to the creation of knowledge that can serve a broad spectrum of society. It is also clear that our girls and women deserve the same opportunities as our boys and men enjoy, to excel in science and technology education and careers. When it comes to diversity, doing the right thing and doing the smart thing can be one and the same. However, too often efforts to increase diversity try to shoehorn women into systems created by and for white men. When this happens, the benefits arising from diversity evaporate. As a result, successful diversity interventions need to open our culture and our institutions to welcome the differences diverse people bring to the table. 

Carla Fehr is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and holds the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy at the University of Waterloo. She is a co-founder of the APA Committee on Status of Women Site Visit Program, and the co-founder and co-editor of Feminist Philosophy Quarterly. She has won several national grants for her work exploring how diversity promotes excellence by leading to more rigorous, effective, and creative science and technology research. And she had been invited to share her research with STEM programs across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Dr. Fehr will deliver a presentation on the ethical, cultural, and economic importance of diversity within STEM.