DR. IMOGEN COE SESSION DESCRIPTION: Science and engineering in Canada continue to exist within organizational and disciplinary cultures that are embedded within historical and societal biases, euro-centric forms of knowledge, stereotypes, and structural biases. Oftentimes, these factors will leave talent on the sidelines and limit innovation. Human capital is the most valuable resource for any organization and anything that limits the participation of the broadest range of human talent will also limit progress, innovation, creativity, and productivity. Through recognizing and removing these barriers to talent in science and engineering, it will lead to improved outcomes. However, this requires significant levels of self-awareness and education, both at the individual level and organization. In this session, Dr. Coe will show how understanding of our contexts & histories, using self-reflection, data, evidence, and scholarship, can help us get comfortable with the uncomfortable topics of racism, sexism, homophobia, colonialism in science & engineering. She will challenge us to "flip the script" on the deeply embedded "deficit" model for engaging historically excluded demographics in engineering and help us move towards an "asset" model of organizational cultural change by identifying tools and strategies that can help individuals and institutions act towards creating sustainable cultures of inclusive excellence.
