Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Our workshops are based on a survey conducted by the Gender Equality Working Group of the Quantum Flagship.

This survey highlighted the need for training workshops that help to understand and mitigate different kinds of biases within ourselves and others which manifest as discrimination. Considering the rapid growth of research groups and industries in Quantum Technology, it is important to implement training workshops now so that a diverse and inclusive quantum community can flourish as it continues to grow.

Science Melting Pot creates and runs workshops which use theater to approach and understand these difficult issues. Our goal is to raise awareness around different experiences within Quantum and cultivate equitable spaces which allow everyone to thrive and succeed.

Our workshop centers on people, experiences, and empathy. We use theater as a powerful tool to showcase the complex dynamics of discrimination and how it hinders equity, diversity, and inclusion.

To create workshops, Science Melting Pot draws on research such as the Competency Framework for Quantum Technologies; surveys on diversity and discrimination within quantum; and leading teaching, learning, and accessibility frameworks. Our workshops are constructed and run with a collaboration of scientists, science communicators, and theater artists. The workshops we create are valuable tools for both academia and industry.

Our interactive workshops hope to leave participants with a more concrete and personal understanding of discrimination. Aided by guidelines and recommended actions provided by the workshop, these understandings can become action. With a toolkit of experience and action recommendations from our workshops, solid steps can be taken to reduce bias, create an inclusive environment, and ensure equity for everyone within your team.

Each workshop has different learning goals, based on the needs of the client. Some common learning objectives within our workshops include:
• How to identify everyday discrimination students, researchers and leaders face
• What actionable steps can be taken against discrimination, individually and structurally
• Who might be facing discrimination within a community
• Where biases and discrimination originate
• Why recognizing and addressing our own biases is important in personal, professional, and academic settings

Our Diversity and Inclusion workshops aim to empower participants to identify and act on different kinds of discrimination and biases that they might encounter.

Interventions made from the ground up will prepare current and future scientists, managers and leaders in Quantum Technology to foster an inclusive and equitable community. Diversity and inclusion workshops help to address some of the many current challenges faced in society; such as racism, sexism, and under-representation, which spill into our professional and academic lives.