What does EDI in science mean?: Notes from Science Atlantic’s 2023 Chemistry Conference
Published in The NB Media Co-op
(*Artwork: ‘Two-eyed seeing’ by Incé Husain)
On May 25th to 27th, the annual student-led chemistry conference “ChemCon” unfolded at Dalhousie University with a theme of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) embedded within talks by keynote speakers. The conference carried a casual tone, rich with dialogue between audiences and presenters.
The ChemCon organizing committee, composed of about twenty students, strived to host a conference that was inclusive. Second-year student organizers Fanny Vain, Lister De Vitre, and Alex Petkov believe that discussions on EDI in science are important for objective, high-quality science.
“If we have more voices in general contributing to science, we’re going to have a better understanding of science,” says De Vitre, co-president of the organizing committee. “The science is going to be more thorough and less biased.”
“Science is supposed to be objective, so you shouldn’t be discriminated against,” Petkov, a committee volunteer, says. “Your opinion shouldn’t hold less weight because of your background.”
The keynote lectures featured chemistry postdoc Alex Veinot from Western University and chemistry professor Nola Etkin from the University of Prince Edward Island.
Veinot, a member of the Mi’kmaq community, experienced a sense of cultural disconnection in university, and shared his personal insights on how academia might be made more welcoming for Indigenous students. Etkin, a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, navigated university while advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights, and believes that recognizing diverse social dynamics will bring inclusivity. Their stories were threaded with explanations of their chemistry research.
“It was a very well done narrative,” says De Vitre. “They would be talking about chemistry one moment and then a harrowing experience the next. But it wasn’t too jarring - it was jarring in the way it was supposed to be. It felt very natural.”
“I didn’t have any expectations because I didn’t have any idea what it would look like,” says Vain, co-president of the organizing committee. “At first I was thinking (the talks) would be more about chemistry, so I was pleasantly surprised that it went so deep and personal.”
Vain, De Vitre, and Petkov discuss aspects of Veinot’s talk that broadened their perspectives.
Vain shares that Veinot’s comparison of Indigenous students’ experiences in university to those of international students “opened her eyes”. It had not crossed her mind that Indigenous students might also experience culture shock.
De Vitre says that Veinot’s talk made it “click in his mind” how empowering it is to see role models from one’s own cultural background in high academic positions.
Petkov was surprised that Veinot had hidden his Indigenous identity in university. He had thought that Western society had become more accepting of Indigenous people in recent years.
“You forget that it’s only recently that Western society became more progressive,” says Petkov. “It’s not that surprising now that I think about it.”
When seeking keynote speakers, the organizing committee reached out to academics who had given talks about EDI before. Vain believes that sharing these stories can pave the way for policy changes in universities - they evoke sympathy and spread awareness.
“The best way (for policy changes) is to share stories and be more personal,” says Vain. “I think our conference is a very good step towards that. (It’s) a perfect way to start getting these stories out there and making people more sympathetic to people who go through these things. And then we can move on to the next steps.”
De Vitre says that some such steps have been taken. Dalhousie University has established EDI roles in science departments and student societies to try to ensure equity. Vain adds that, compared to her home country of Estonia, “Canada is headed in the right direction”, with EDI being a clear priority in universities. The organizers believe that discussion about EDI should occur whenever possible, but that more change should follow.
“The most important part is understanding that more action needs to be taken, and just talking about stuff is not the best thing we can do,” says De Vitre.”But at the same time it is something we can do, and in terms of hosting a chemistry conference (with) our main theme being diversity - that’s a pretty good way of helping in our own way.”
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Alex Veinot remembers ChemCon fondly as an undergrad. His first ever conference, it propelled him to continue studying chemistry in grad school and pursue a research career. To return to ChemCon as a speaker was a “no-brainer”; he wanted to be part of that experience for young researchers, and hoped that Indigenous students might look up to him.
“Representing Indigenous people in science is important since there are so few,” says Veinot, sharing that many Indigenous people who grow up on reserves don’t have the means to learn about what scientists do. “I never had a mentor myself, and hope I can be a role model for someone else.”
In his talk, he hoped to share his experiences as genuinely as possible and to give the audience room to reflect. He began his talk with “a bigger picture” - statistics from 2021 showing that only 25% of Indigenous people in Canada had university degrees. He then settled into a chronological account of his life story, from growing up with ties to reserves in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, to how he became captivated by chemistry.
“My approach has always been to share my story and be honest,” says Veinot. “What people take from my story is on them - I’m not trying to convince or sell. It’s been more about awareness. I just share my story. That’s all I try to do. I don’t consider myself an activist.”
Veinot concluded his talk by stating that universities must ensure support for Indigenous students that acknowledge their cultural responsibilities and feelings of disconnection. He identified systemic barriers to Indigenous education that spanned culture shock, language barriers, a lack of role models in higher education, a lack of transportation to schools, and a lack of Indigenous thought included in university curriculums. These insights arose from extensive self-reflection.
“Every time you get more experience, your perspective changes,” says Veinot. “You kind of have to take stock every so often of where you’ve been and where you’re going. That’s been my process for what I want to talk about. As much time as I spent making the talk, I probably spent more doing that self-reflection because, ultimately, it’s my journey.”
In undergrad, Veinot struggled to understand the origins of his feelings of isolation. There were some aspects of academic culture that he resonated with, and others that felt foreign. He hid his Indigenous identity to suppress feelings of being different, but could not deny that his experiences were not the norm. He had not thought about the barriers he might be facing as an Indigenous person, and his upbringing in rural Nova Scotia had left him with a history of prejudice to unlearn. When he joined EDI committees in university and began to hear other people’s experiences, he realized how substantial his perspective was.
“I spent a lot of time hiding my identity for my undergraduate, my Master’s even - I didn’t talk much about it. But I do belong to a community and I have some of those experiences, so I’ve never really felt like I’ve necessarily had the same experiences as my peers. But also, it's not that different either,” says Veinot. “So for me, it was really a lot of being aware that I do have a different perspective than a lot of people and trying to understand what that perspective is. And I think about that as finding my voice.”
Vienot emphasizes that his perspectives are ever-changing, and doesn’t believe that he can provide fulfilling insights for everyone. He interprets talks about EDI as being about spreading awareness so that everyone can contemplate change together.
“I would say that we already put enough burden on underrepresented groups to share their stories,” says Veinot. “My feeling is that the burden of finding the solutions shouldn’t be on the equity-seeking members, it should be on the majority that have really just benefited from shared experiences and the current system. I do what I can to share my story.”
He was glad that ChemCon took a “positive” approach to EDI that celebrated diverse perspectives instead of plunging into histories of oppression. He emphasizes that it is important to recognize the past, but that dwelling on it may harm the scope for “moving on” towards new norms.
Veinot adds that he resonates with Indigenization movements - or ‘two-eyed seeing’ approaches - which serve to blend Indigenous thought into Western academic structures. This is in contrast to decolonization movements, which serve to overwrite them entirely. He believes Indigenization would nurture a way of thinking that makes science the shared domain of Western and Indigenous thought, while decolonization would ultimately limit knowledge.
“Indigenization would be - instead of completely changing everything - bringing in Indigenous thought and aspects of learning, and keeping in mind how things can work in harmony,” says Veinot. “That’s always been my approach. It’s about losing or gaining. It’s about what you stand to gain through EDI as opposed to what you are trying to make up for.”
Veinot is optimistic that change will follow discussions about EDI, sharing that slow progress is due to a lack of resources rather than divided ideologies. He believes it is a feat to have come to a place where discussion on EDI can thrive given the shame historically imposed onto those with Indigenous heritage.
“Everyone has good intentions and we all want to have these changes in place, but sometimes it's limited by other factors. A lot is volunteer work, and so we don’t always have time to commit to making those changes,” says Veinot. “We need to be mindful that we can’t fix everything overnight. But focus on incremental changes. As long as things are getting better we’re going in the right direction. The people who are angry that there hasn’t been enough change - that’s just a lack of patience.” ♦
A modified version of this article appeared in The NB Media Co-op on August 9th , 2023: