Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) Toolkit

Why EDI is important

Women and gender diverse people have long been underrepresented in the STEM fields and many studies have shown that biases, both conscious and unconscious, as well as internal and external forces, account for their premature departure from STEM. A study done by Dasgupta in 2017 states "In childhood and adolescence, masculine stereotypes about STEM, parents’ expectations of daughters, peer norms, and lack of fit with personal goals makes girls move away from STEM fields."

WISEST (Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology) exists to promote equity, diversity and inclusion for women and gender diverse people in STEM fields. As student populations become more and more diverse, WISEST, along with educators, teachers and parents, can work to empower young women and gender diverse people by reducing barriers to equity, diversity and inclusivity in STEM fields.

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Goals of the WISEST EDI toolkit

We want this toolkit to:

  1. Support teachers, educators and parents in their awareness and education about EDI issues in and out of the classroom as it relates to STEM.
  2. Provide tangible strategies, activities and ideas for promoting EDI in and out of the classroom.
  3. Further the work of ensuring that girls and gender diverse people know that STEM is something they can not only pursue, but also succeed in.

Using the EDI Toolkit

The toolkit is meant to serve as a reference guide for you to access specific types of materials all related to EDI. Each resource has been labelled with the type of resource it is (e.g. article, blog post, report, infographic, etc.), a brief summary of what you can expect and the link to access it. These resources are categorized into topics that include: The Importance of EDI, Teaching Resources, Resources for Supporting Your Diverse Students and EDI in Action in STEM. The toolkit is meant to be shared easily amongst your networks, so please feel free to distribute it.

Toolkit topics

The Importance of EDI: Background information about underrepresentation in STEM fields, including government and organization reports and research with supporting figures.

Teaching Resources: Tips, lessons and activities to promote and encourage Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

Resources for Supporting Your Diverse Students: A list of resources and classroom books to consider for supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) students.

Note: We recognize that this list is by no means exhaustive, however, the resources have been curated by the WISEST staff for its accessibility and value. We are constantly finding new resources and our hope for this toolkit is that we will release an updated version annually in August and January.

If you know of a resource that could be added to the toolkit, share it with us at wisest.outreach@ualberta.ca.