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While the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted many of our lives these past few months, it has further exacerbated existing inequalities. This situation provides an opportunity to examine the larger state of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the physics community in Canada, explore different paths towards addressing current challenges, and work towards building a stronger and more inclusive community for future generations.
This special issue of Physics in Canada will highlight the current experiences of underrepresented groups in physics with the publication of results from CAP’s first national diversity survey. Representation is considered in its broadest sense. The issue will feature articles discussing the past, present and the future of physics in Canada as we strive to achieve inclusive excellence. The aim is to provide the Physics community in Canada with a ready reference describing the current demographics, potential reasons for the gaps in representation, and promising practices to address those gaps. It will be a valuable resource for K-12 teachers and administrators, post-secondary institutions, industry and government; and provide the international physics community with an opportunity to compare and contrast the fate of various underrepresented communities across countries.
We are hereby inviting expressions of interest to submit contributions to this issue. We strongly encourage submissions from undergraduate and graduate students, social scientists as well as professional physicists working in industry or governmental positions.
Contributions can be for extended abstracts, opinion articles, personal testimonials, research essays or literature reviews (all 1 or 2 journal pages), or educational manuscripts (up to 4 journal pages). A journal page is defined as up to 750 words for the first page plus 1200 words for subsequent pages, less approximately 350 words for each image.
Example topics of interest include:
- Exploring the concept of the “leaky pipeline” from elementary school through retirement
- Representation in research subjects
- Best/Promising practices for incorporating EDI principles into physics education
- How COVID-19 exacerbates inequalities in the physics community, including the productivity challenges of those with caregiving responsibilities working from home
- Historical perspectives on diversity within the Canadian physics community
- Applicability of Boyer’s model to the physics tenure and promotion process
- Disproportionate burdens of administrative and extracurricular activities on members of marginalized groups
- How industry can dismantle current barriers faced by underrepresented communities
- Invisible disabilities in the workplace
- Identifying mechanisms of accessibility and inclusion across social domains
- Research collaboration with indigenous communities
- Lived experiences as a racialized physicist in Canada
- Underserved communities in Canada, educational bias and access to educational resources.
- Queer and trans identities in academic publishing
- White privilege and fragility in the academy
- Measuring the effectiveness of existing EDI policies
- National networks to exchange ideas/promising practices
- Promising practices in the recruitment process, including targeted hires
- The fallacy of objectivity
- Exploring the culture and liberalism of the Physics community in Canada, and its apparent lag in tackling these issues compared to the longstanding efforts of the Physics community in the US
Expressions of interest in contributing should be sent to pic.inclusive.excellence@outlook.com. and include your name, affiliation, type of contribution you are proposing, and a short abstract (25-50 words) describing the proposed content and format of the contribution.
The tentative production schedule for this issue has been set as follows:
Mon, June 29: Mon, July 6:
Deadline for submissions of expressions of interest
Mon, July 6: Mon. July 13
Confirmation of acceptance of contribution and author instructions sent to contributors
Fri, Aug. 21 (8 weeks):
Submission of manuscripts by authors to Editorial Committee
Aug. 21 – Sept. 16:
Review of manuscripts and interactions with authors to finalize contributions
Thurs, Sept. 17:
Submission of final manuscripts and image files to CAP Office
Sept. 17 – Nov. 15:
Typesetting and interactions with authors to proof and finalize content
Nov. 16 – Dec. 1:
Preparation of final issue and posting to PiC-PaC website
Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you know who you think should consider contributing to this issue, particularly social scientists. We look forward to a wide range of submissions.
Any questions? Contact pic.inclusive.excellence@outlook.com.
Editorial Committee
Special issue of Physics in Canada
Inclusion for Excellence in the Physics Community in Canada
Dr. Kevin Hewitt, Dalhousie University, Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science
Anastasia Smolina, University of Toronto, Department of Medical Biophysics
Dr. Shohini Ghose, Wilfrid Laurier University, Department of Physics & Computer Science
Dr. James Botte, Carleton University, Department of Physics
Dr. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, University of Hawaii, Canada-France-Hawaii Observatory
Dr. Michael Steinitz, St. Francis Xavier University, Department of Physics
Gurkaran Chowdhry, Dalhousie University, Department of Physiology and Biophysics |
