For biologist Jessica Ford, pursuing a lifelong interest in ā the study of amphibians and reptiles or, as Ford puts it, āthings that live in the mudā ā hasnāt always been easy.
āFrom my elementary school experience through to undergrad, Iāve had people telling me, āMaybe you should reconsiderā, āmaybe you shouldnāt be doing thisā, āmaybe science isnāt for youā.
āThereās very little that makes you feel so much like you canāt do something as someone explicitly telling you that you should reconsider.ā
But far from being deterred from following a path she was told was āweird for a girl,ā Ford leaned in. Now a PhD student in ±«ÓćÖ±²„ās Redpath Museum, she credits her stubbornness, her passion for science and ecology, and the support of friends and family for keeping her moving ±«ÓćÖ±²„.
Representation: the importance of seeing and being seen
Having found her way in a traditionally male-dominated field, Ford wanted to do something that would counterbalance discouraging voices āfor other little Jesses out there.ā In 2017, she responded to a message from Charles Xu, a fellow graduate student at the Redpath Museum, who was looking for ways to draw attention to issues of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM).
Born in Wuhan, Xu grew up in the American Midwest and studied at universities in the US, Europe and Asia before starting his PhD in biology at ±«ÓćÖ±²„ in 2016. He recounts a positive mentoring experience from around the time he finished high school which helped solidify his resolve to pursue science studies.
āI went to a biology camp for underrepresented minorities at the University of Indiana in Bloomington, and then I got involved with research in the summer before my first year of undergrad,ā he says. āI lived in the same town as the university and a graduate student really took me under his wing.ā
āWithin STEMM, Asians actually tend to be overrepresented, but within the field of ecology and evolution, weāre certainly underrepresented.ā
The Redpath Museum: old traditions and new visions meet
A workshop on EDI delivered by Imogen Coe, a professor of biology and chemistry at Ryerson University, and Dawn Bazely, a biology professor at York University, inspired Xu to start discussing potential projects with fellow graduate students. Soon after, he, Ford and several others banded together to form STEMM Diversity @ ±«ÓćÖ±²„. The groupās first initiative was an exhibition at the Redpath Museum, highlighting ±«ÓćÖ±²„ scientists from underrepresented groups.
The Redpath ā a Victorian-era treasure trove of natural history specimens and cultural artifacts built to house the collections of Sir John William Dawson ā might seem an unlikely place for fresh ideas about diversity in the sciences to thrive.
āThe Redpath Museum is great. I love it,ā says Xu. āBut it has this very classical, Victorian-style architecture, and the moment you walk in, thereās a giant portrait of Peter Redpath on one side, and portraits of people like Thomas Huxley and Charles Darwin on the otherāā19th century figures āwho donāt necessarily reflect the kinds of people who are doing science within the museum today.ā
But the Redpath (in pre-pandemic times, at least) was also a place that welcomed a steady stream of public visitors, including tens of thousands of school-age children each year, and Xu and his colleagues recognized a clear opportunity to showcase the stories of modern-day scientists from diverse backgrounds.
āWe put up these big banners around the museum so that people coming in could see themselves doing the kind of science they were there to learn about,ā Xu says.
The exhibit has evolved into a permanent installation with touchscreens showing interviews with prominent ±«ÓćÖ±²„ scientists, including and , sharing stories of their own career paths as well as their perspectives on ongoing barriers to participation in the sciences.
Ford has also developed a colouring book to introduce young children to scientists from underrepresented backgrounds who have made significant contributions in STEMM fields.
āSomething I find really empowering is finding someone who reminds me of me ā someone I can identify with who is doing what I want to do,ā she says.
ā[I wanted to offer kids] something that really spoke to them and explained thereās lots of people who do science. We all look different, and you can have a place here, too.ā
Appetite for change
With the release of its 2020-2025 strategic plan for equity, diversity and inclusion, ±«ÓćÖ±²„ affirmed its commitment to āaddress the lasting effects of historic injustices that continue to challenge equal opportunities to access, and to succeed within, the ±«ÓćÖ±²„ community.ā
Ford sees the emergence of STEMM Diversity @ ±«ÓćÖ±²„ and other student-led EDI initiatives across the campus as a clear sign of ±«ÓćÖ±²„ studentsā appetite for change. From the work she and her fellow students put in, it is evident that studentsā energy and dedication to making the University a more welcoming place are among the leading drivers of that change.
āSTEMM Diversity exists for a reason,ā Ford says. āAnd the reason is that there are persistent issues with EDI at ±«ÓćÖ±²„.ā
The message for incoming students, Xu says, is that āpeople walking the same path as youāre about to start have faced challenges, and there are things to watch out for.ā
āOur goal,ā he adds, āis to make students aware of the challenges, and then offer advice about how to get past them. And also, to show that there are other people who feel the same way, there are peers you can draw on for support.ā
In 2021, the group took a further step towards realizing that goal by establishing a to connect undergraduate students in the Faculty of Science with graduate student mentors.
Efforts recognized
The efforts made by Xu, Ford and colleagues have not gone unnoticed by the University. In 2018, STEMM Diversity was among the winners of ±«ÓćÖ±²„ās , and the following year, the group received special recognition for direct public outreach under the . This year, the ±«ÓćÖ±²„ Alumni Association further recognized Ford with the for her efforts to āchange the narrative of what people assume a scientist looks likeā.
STEMM Diversity now occupies a place among a growing number of EDI initiatives in the Faculty of Science and beyond, including theĀ Office of Science Outreach, a number of departmental EDI committees and the Faculty of Science Equity and Climate Committee (SECC). SECCās founder, ±«ÓćÖ±²„ biology professor Laura Nilson, who is also the Associate Dean (Graduate Education) for the Faculty of Science and oversees the Facultyās EDI portfolio, regards student-led initiatives as vital to making progress on the Universityās EDI goals.
āWe canāt overstate the value of groups like STEMM Diversity,ā Nilson says. āTheyāre on the ground and they see issues out there that are relevant to their experience at ±«ÓćÖ±²„, and therefore they bring an important perspective to our collective EDI efforts as an institution.ā