Working Towards Inclusivity in Chemistry (CWIC) uOttawa
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We are a student-led organization aiming to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within the chemistry community at uOttawa, as well as within the broader STEM community as a whole.
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As we expand we hope to bring a number of initiatives to the University of Ottawa community. These include guest lecturer series, community outreach, a journal club, and supporting community building - all through an EDI-focused lens.
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Connect with us on social media by following the links!
We are a chapter of the national CWIC Network. Please visit their website (https://cwicnetwork.com/) for detailed information about the entire network and to find information about other chapters across Canada.
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About Us
Our Objectives
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Highlight the achievements and events of different under-represented minorities through monthly social media posts.
Have monthly meetings to discuss initiatives and events to be hosted at uOttawa.
Provide resources to women and other minorities in the chemical sciences by having information and highlighting resources on our website.
Liaise with the CWIC national network and other national/international groups/collaborators to elevate our profile and reach.
Participate in annual events such as the Leaders Overcoming Gender Inequality in Chemistry (LOGIC) retreat, LGBT STEM Day, the IUPAC Global Women's Breakfast, and more.
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Inspiring Person of the Month
Each month we aim to highlight one person from our department that identifies as part of an equity-deserving group. This initiative aims to amplify the voices of these individuals, in both their personal and professional spaces, to help create a space where equity-deserving role models can be seen by future chemists and scientists.
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To see more inspiring people and view our previous month's highlights, please click here!
January 2024
Do you have someone you want to recommend as an inspiring person of the month?
Amazing! Click the arrow to contact us and let us know who they are and why you would like to highlight them.
We vote every month on who to include for the next month's inspiring person and are always looking for people to highlight.
We also highly encourage you to highlight yourself if you want! Self-promotion is often one of the hardest things to convince yourself to do, but it is vital to creating a network and sharing information with others!
Story of the Month
This initiative focuses on highlighting mental health and wellness stories from members of our department and we want to hear from you!
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Why are we implementing this initiative?
1. To tackle imposter syndrome and foster community
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Many graduate students experience feelings of imposter syndrome as their internal voice questions whether or not they belong in/are good enough for graduate school. These feelings and self-doubts are often not talked about amongst colleagues/peers
2. To reduce the stigma surrounding mental health
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By providing a safe space to disclose our experiences at uOttawa we hope to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in our department.
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We will highlight that mental health can affect us all and work towards improving the overall equity, diversity and inclusion of our institution.
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How to get involved with this initiative?
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Each story aims to highlight the challenges you have faced in your academic journey, their impact on mental health, and how you have navigated (or are navigating) these challenges.
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We welcome submissions from all graduate students, alumni and postdocs in our department.
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Your story will be shared on our Twitter account, the CBS slack channel, our CBGSA Instagram, and the CWIC website.
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You can choose to be anonymous throughout the process.
Share your graduate student experiences here
If you have any questions about this initiative or how to participate, please feel free to contact Alisha Szozda (aszoz104@uottawa.ca) or the CWIC uOttawa team directly (cwic.uottawa@gmail.com).
Resources...
Have a resource you want to contribute? Send us a message!
Looking to create more accessible communications and presentations? Check out our "quick guide"!
Includes practical resources for colour & font selection, online or in person communications, and social media!
Papers and Publications:
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(1) Ross, M. B.; Glennon, B. M.; Murciano-Goroff, R.; Berkes, E. G.; Weinberg, B. A.; Lane, J. I. Women Are Credited Less in Science than Are Men. Nature 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04966-w.
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(2) The Royal Society of Chemistry: "Missing Elements - racial and ethnic inequalities in the chemical sciences". https://www.rsc.org/globalassets/22-new-perspectives/talent/racial-and-ethnic-inequalities-in-the-chemical-sciences/missing-elements-report.pdf
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(3) The Micropedia of Microaggressions - learn more about microaggressions and their impact: https://www.themicropedia.org/​
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(4) Deng, J. M.; McMunn, L. E.; Oakley, M. S.; Dang, H. T.; Rodriguez, R. S. Toward Sustained Cultural Change through Chemistry Graduate Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Communities. J. Chem. Educ. 2022, 99 (1), 373–382. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00485.
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(5) Reisman, S. E.; Sarpong, R.; Sigman, M. S.; Yoon, T. P. Organic Chemistry: A Call to Action for Diversity and Inclusion. Organometallics 2020, 39 (16), 2931–2936. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.organomet.0c00519.
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Inclusive & Diverse Chemist Stories:​
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(1) @CSC_Wide 's Spotlight Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSirvchaJJDBuH2pFHbKzZBiKnNcR2NpJ
(2) @CWIC_Network 's My STEM Stories: https://cwicnetwork.com/elementor-2333/
(3) The Diversify Chem Database: https://diversifychemistry.com/
(4) The Scientist Spotlight's Initiative by @JeffBioEd: https://scientistspotlights.org/about-us/
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Events and Celebrations
As you may know, EDI extends far greater than multicultural and religious diversity alone, which is why we wanted to create a calendar that highlights all Canadian and International celebrations that are at the forefront of EDI. Furthermore, as EDI is continuously evolving with each passing year, we will be updating this calendar on a yearly basis to ensure its authenticity.
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We understand that this calendar may not be all encompassing but we have tried to include as many celebrations as possible. If you have any suggestions for celebrations we may have missed, please send us a quick email!
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We encourage you to use this calendar as a way to celebrate these unique and diverse events, and to learn more about those you may not have known about already.
If you wish to download the calendar PDF, you can do so here: