EDII

Inequitable representation in the STEM fields takes many forms. Different groups remain drastically underrepresented, and this inequity tends to increase at each further career step. Of particular importance to me, the field of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) in Canada includes far fewer women and Black and Indigenous members than our society, particularly when looking at postgraduate education.

Research on the under-representation of women in (CSE) in academia is easy to find and unambiguous. A Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) report on Women in Science and Engineering in Canada published in 2017 reported that the percent of women enrolled in a full-time Master’s program in Engineering in Canada in 2014-15 was 24.8% and 32% for Computer Science, while PhD enrollment in the same period was 23.7% and 24.8% respectively. Jodi Kovitz, founder of Move the Dial, states that

there is a significant gap in gender diversity [in tech] in Canada [but] we found through our work that for visible minorities and other underrepresented groups those numbers are far worse.

The Computing Research Association (CRA) annual Taulbee Survey documents student enrollment, degree production, employment of graduates, and faculty salaries in CSE departments in the United States and Canada. Its results include statistics on gender, race, and Indigeneity that demonstrate the magnitude of the problem. The report does not break down statistics reflecting situation of equity-deserving groups by country, but Canadian data is represented and Queen’s University participated in the survey. The 53rd annual survey, conducted in 2023, reports that only 26.8% of CSE Master’s degrees and 22.7% of CSE PhDs were awarded to women or non-binary persons. The numbers for Black and Indigenous persons are even more stark. Only 1.6% of Master’s degrees and 1.2% of PhDs were awarded to Black persons, while the number for both degree levels was 0.1% for Indigenous persons.

There are many systemic barriers to the greater inclusion of these groups in CSE postgraduate education. In a 2024 article for the ACMW Connections Newsletter, Cigdem Sengul cited recent global research on inclusion in CSE. The barriers listed include lack of early exposure to CSE, lack of role-models and safe spaces, prejudiced attitudes from peers, invisibility in the area, lack of approaches tailored to diverse students, and lack of support networks.

As an Early-Career Researcher (ECR) only beginning to develop a research group, the focus of my EDII work is on professional development, recruitment, and establishing the basic processes for creating an inclusive environment. To find approaches tailored to diverse students, I look to education. I participate each year in the Queen’s University Human Rights and Equity Office (HREO) annual learning challenge and refer to their other trainings when I encounter topics in which need updating. I also look for EDII workshops and events that my group and I can attend together as a way to help ensure any prejudiced attitudes are challenged. Recruiting women, Black, and Indigenous students requires working around their frequent lack of early exposure to CSE. While I do not have the budget for job postings to many targeted boards, I am committed to the use of inclusive language and am engaging with the Queen’s community to encourage undergraduates in these groups to consider continuing their education. I am creating processes to ensure that my students will feel seen in their roles as CSE researchers and that they have safe spaces and support networks. Whether that means connecting students with campus organizations like Yellow House or Queen’s Women in Engineering, or working with more established professors to include my students in larger group settings, I want my students to have spaces where they can feel supported.