Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Exciton Science is made up of more than 100 members, who bring with them a wealth of expertise, viewpoints and experience. Our vision is that all students and staff feel valued, supported and encouraged to contribute their perspectives and talents to the Centre. More broadly, we aspire to contribute to positive change in the world, both through how we work together and in our research and engagement.

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee was established in December 2019 to continue to support the Centre’s commitment to equal opportunity, inclusion and diversity among its members and within the broader community. It includes representation from each of the Centre’s five nodes and includes CIs, postdocs, students and professional staff.

The Committee is guided by its strategic plan, which outlines how the Centre will influence equity, diversity and inclusion throughout all areas and operations, as well as within the scientific and wider communities. The Centre aims to do this by empowering members of underrepresented groups, highlighting the benefits of diversity along with the intrinsic diversity already present within the Centre, promoting equality, and bringing awareness to challenges faced by groups underrepresented in STEM.

Throughout 2022, a number of initiatives were realised. Implementation of the strategies documented in the EDI strategic plan to bring the Centre’s gender balance closer to reflecting that of society have delivered progress.

Incorporation of training and awareness sessions with a focus on aspects of EDI at Centre-wide events has informed and improved the awareness of Centre members regarding EDI issues. The Committee facilitated a successful personal pronoun badge-making stall at the most recent Annual Workshop, resulting in fantastic artwork along with personal pronoun awareness. Another initiative included a Navigating Multicultural Names training session.

The Committee also helped champion the highly successful inSTEM Conference at the University of Queensland, an event focused on empowering underrepresented groups in STEM fields.

In addition, the number of member profiles on the Centre website, which have a focus on lived experiences and demonstrates the diversity of our community, has continued to grow. This highlights to both Centre members and the wider community the rich diversity within the Centre.