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Women in Science

Update and Status Report: April 2022

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Overview

  • WiS Virtual Learning Lab
  • Micro-Projects
  • Care Leave Survey Report
  • Toolkit Update
  • WiS Advocacy Webinar
  • Next Steps

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WiS Virtual Learning Lab

  • Series of virtual workshops held between 22 and 28 October 2021.
  • Second iteration of the 2019 WiS Learning Lab.
  • 14 participants: women and gender-diverse people in public sector science from several regions, departments, areas of expertise, career stages, and identities
  • 3-day live sessions, plus self-directed e-modules completed over 2 weeks

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Participant Feedback

  • Motivation : Opportunities to learn and to network as the main reasons for applying to the Lab
  • Learning Lab Expectations: All but one participant said that the Lab met or exceeded their expectations. One participant mentioned that they were not sure what to expect and would have liked more information in the invitation.
  • Overall experience positive; however, there were a few challenges with the virtual format in terms of time commitment, as well as different time zones.
  • More information available in the Learning Lab Report (internal): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dItBwQgqtt5I2L-GbBAA3yz5as1QMkYNDZpRWuQmmkY/edit?usp=sharing

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WiS Micro-Projects

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Members of the Learning Lab proposed and led two new EDI-focused micro-projects:

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  • Women in Public Service Science (WIPSS) Network
    • Network hub connecting Womxn across the federal public service sciences for better career and personal growth.
    • Network introduced at WiS webinar; Slack platform to be launched next month

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  • GBA+ in Hiring Processes
    • Research project around best practices for inclusive hiring and areas for potential involvement of the union
    • Currently in planning stage; more updates coming soon

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Experiences of Family, Care, and Parental Leave in the Federal Public Science: Report

  • Led by Modernizing Parental Leave in the Federal Public Sector Project team (2019 Lab cohort)
  • Published in February 2022: https://pipsc.ca/sites/default/files/comms/PDF_Reports/parental-leave-report-final-feb2022.pdf
  • Survey highlights:
    • family, caregiving and career
    • support from management
    • information and understanding of leave entitlements and policies
  • Future recommendations:
    • training programme

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WiS Toolkit Update

  • Updated Toolkit published in March 2022.
  • Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H1PfW_zHTVM9dYAS7ZjvoGhV4Xa-I91N/view)
  • New version builds on and revises the original Toolkit
  • Input from WiS Learning Lab 2 participants and Working Group
  • Sections rearranged and new content added
  • More multimedia resources (podcasts, videos)
  • New resources relevant to COVID context
  • Removed outdated content from v1

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WiS Advocacy Webinar - April 13

  • Webinar title: Overcoming gender bias: Advocating for women in science
  • Approximately 150 participants
  • Two guest speakers: Emily Choy and Jasmeen Sidhu
  • Two additional panelists representing WIPSS network: Megan Otu and Pooja Shree Mishra
  • Presentation from two guest speakers
  • Presentation about WIPSS network
  • Q&A sessions with panelists

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Next Steps

  • Meeting held with participants of 2019 and 2021 Learning Labs to gather feedback on the future of WiS:
    • In-personal learning Lab
    • Continuous Toolkit updates
    • More workshops and speaker series

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  • WIPSS Slack platform to be launched next month

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Thanks!

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Sadichchha Pokharel�spokharel@pipsc.ca

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