{"id":73543,"date":"2021-02-11T11:38:13","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T16:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=73543"},"modified":"2025-09-30T10:06:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:06:11","slug":"international-day-of-women-and-girls-in-science","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/international-day-of-women-and-girls-in-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Striving for Gender Equity: Celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Striving for Gender Equity: Celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Growing up, Rowan Thomson<\/a> loved sitting down and solving equations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an undergraduate biochemistry<\/a> student at Carleton University, Thomson realized that she enjoyed the math and physics parts of her major more than its core components, so she switched to a double honours degree in math<\/a> and physics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThese subjects become abstract in a hurry at university,\u201d says Thomson, a Canada Research Chair in Radiotherapy Physics at Carleton.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cPhysics describes the smallest and biggest things in the universe, from quanta to the cosmos, and math is the language that\u2019s used. It\u2019s a language that I love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof.
Prof. Rowan Thomson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thomson, whose award-winning research<\/a> involves developing and applying computational techniques to improve radiotherapy cancer treatments, is an anomaly in her field. She\u2019s a woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although significant progress has been made toward gender balance in some sciences\u2014female students at Carleton and other universities outnumber men in areas such as biology and neuroscience, for example\u2014equality remains elusive in historically male disciplines such as math, physics and computer science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, Thomson, who joined Carleton\u2019s faculty in 2010, noticed that gender stereotypes and discrimination that impacted her career were still being experienced by the female undergrads and grad students she was teaching and supervising.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s not OK that these issues are persisting for so long,\u201d she says. \u201cEnough talk\u2014we need action.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Last summer, despite her busy schedule, Thomson took on a new role<\/a> at Carleton: assistant dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the Faculty of Science. The position is part of a growing effort at the university to ensure that everybody has the freedom to contribute to their chosen field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United Nations\u2019 International Day of Women and Girls in Science<\/a>, which is celebrated on February 11 every year, is a timely opportunity to examine the movement toward gender equity in science at Carleton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"President
President Benoit-Antoine Bacon and Prof. Rowan Thomson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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\u201cWe are committed to continuous progress towards full participation in science and other STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields for all members of the Carleton community,\u201d says President Benoit-Antoine Bacon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to celebrate how far we have come, but even more important to acknowledge how much work remains to ensure that people from all backgrounds have equal opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Turning<\/figure>\n\n\n

Equal Access to all Aspects of Society<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Over the past 10 years, from 2011 to fall 2020, the percentage of female undergrads enrolled in science programs at Carleton has remained fairly stable, fluctuating between 36 and 39 per cent, while the number of female grad students in science has increased from 41 to 50 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broken down by discipline, the highest percentages of female undergrads are in neuroscience, health sciences and biology: 78, 73 and 63 per cent, respectively, with increases since 2011 of 20, 16 and seven per cent. The lowest percentages are in math and statistics, computer science and physics: 34, 21 and 16, respectively, with increases of five per cent in both computer science and physics, but a small decline in math and stats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These disparities matter for several reasons, says Thomson. For starters, there\u2019s a human rights argument: people deserve equal access to all aspects of society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Turning
Turning the Tide for Women in Science: Untold Stories and Ideas for Change, an event held by the Faculty of Science on March 4, 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s also what she calls the \u201cphilosophy of inclusive excellence,\u201d affirmed by plenty of peer-reviewed research, which holds that \u201cwe need all perspectives and all viewpoints\u2014the full cross-section of human experience\u2014at the table when we\u2019re attempting to address society\u2019s major problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more diverse a research team is, she says, the more innovative\u2014and effective\u2014its solutions will be. And this is true not only in so-called \u201chelping\u201d sciences closely linked with health care and medicine, but also more abstract areas such as physics and math.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To raise awareness about the systemic barriers, harassment and microaggressions faced by women in physics specifically, Thomson has delivered a series of well-attended online talks\u2014organized by institutions such as the University of Victoria and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ont.\u2014and written about the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cPhysics does not take place in a vacuum, but within the context of broader society,\u201d she writes in a draft paper.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe inequities and injustices experienced by physicists from under-represented groups prevail in societies around the globe. With growing awareness of barriers and our collaboration to address these, all physicists have the opportunity to engage as leaders in debunking societal stereotypes and driving change within our communities, cities, and countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Turning<\/figure>\n\n\n

Supporting Female Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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In concert with Carleton\u2019s recently approved EDI Action Plan<\/a>, Thomson and the Faculty of Science\u2019s 15-member EDI committee have started some initiatives and are planning others to help encourage and support female students, and to address the gender imbalance at the graduate, postdoc and faculty levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a new ACE (Awareness, Collaboration and Engagement) EDI event series, featuring speakers like Imogen Coe<\/a>, the founding dean of the Faculty of Science at Ryerson University, whose recent presentation was entitled, Uncomfortable Truths and Inclusive Excellence in Academic Science: Building the Toolkit for Change<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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