EDI initiatives

We aim to establish an inclusive and welcoming culture ensuring equal opportunities for staff and students of all ages, nationalities, disabilities, family structures, genders, sexual orientations, religious or other beliefs and socio-economic backgrounds.

Below are some of the initiatives we've implemented to support this, with other cross-School actions shared by TWiSTEM's Diversity in STEM blog.

Forces of Nature posters
We display several Forces of Nature posters in our School. Designed by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, this series of posters celebrates women in science who were often overlooked in their time. Historically, women have been under-represented in STEM subjects in general but particularly in physics, although positive changes are happening.

BEACON Project
The Building Equity and Awareness through Cultural, Organizational, and Narrative resources (BEACON) project aims to provide our staff and students with a collection of EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) materials, including movies, books, and TV series covering themes such as anti-racism, LGBTQ+, disability, gender violence, gender discrimination, and positive stories from minority perspectives. 

Role models for all Physicists (R24P project)
To celebrate contemporary role models, our EDI team created a series of posters which are displayed on our department screens. Some are also specifically designed for Black History Month and serve as a motivating force for our aspiring physicists who can look up to these extraordinary role models.

Name pronunciation
Research indicates that correct use and pronunciation of a person's name boosts feelings of belonging within an institution. We encourage our staff to include the pronunciation of their name, using tools such as namedrop, in their email signature .