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Keynote: Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour – Crossing Boundaries: Encouraging Diversity

Keynote: Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour – Crossing Boundaries: Encouraging Diversity

Progress has been made in increasing the diversity of people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, women are still a minority, especially in the physical and mathematical sciences and engineering, and in decision-making or leadership roles. How then can gender diversity in scientific publishing be increased? Many factors have been identified as slowing the movement of women into STEM related careers, among them the paucity of role models and mentors, parenting responsibilities, and lingering subconscious stereotypes that influence decision making, for example, in the selection of Board members. With increasing recognition of the value of having women reach their full potential in the workplace and the strong business case for diversity, action has been taken by community and professional organizations, by industry and by academe to address these factors and we are learning which interventions are most effective. Implementing some of these initiatives in scientific communications could help encourage gender diversity in the whole field of scientific publishing.