The main goal of the Women in Mathematics Committee of the CMS is to support the community of Women and Gender Minorities in Math across Canada. Historically women have been excluded from careers in the mathematical science, and currently women are still underrepresented. Having an active community of women mathematicians can provide support and encouragement for women to pursue and remain in careers in Math. The Women in Math Committee organizes the Connecting Women in Math Across Canada workshop, focused sessions at CMS meetings and on-line symposiums on specific topics. We are also trying to build a network of Women in Math and related groups across Canada.
The Women in Math Committee welcomes cisgender and transgender women, as well as gender-diverse individuals including genderqueer, non-binary, and Two-spirit people.
Feel free to contact us if you need support in organizing an events, or if you want us to help promote an event. You can also send us concerns you have or ideas for events and we will see what we can do!
Women in Math and the Global Pandemic
The CMS expresses its support for the letter published by the European Women in Mathematics recognising the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on female mathematicians. The letter has been backed by many mathematicians and mathematical associations.
There are several studies that demonstrate that the global pandemic has widened the existing social and economic gaps based on gender and race in the society. For more information you can consult the following links:
Monitoring Women’s Scholarly Production During the COVID-19 Pandemic;
Gender, Race and Parenthood Impact Academic Productivity during the COVID-19 Pandemic;
Past Events
WIM Overcoming Adversity and Challenges Panel Discussion at CMS Summer Meeting (June 2024)
This was a very interesting panel, special thanks to our panelists: Melanie Gibbons, Avlene Kaur, Jessi Lipoth and Steph van Willigenburg. Topics included sexual harassment, particularly how dramatically harassing behaviour impacts women and their sense of safety, and just how common it is. Many members of the audience found this very impactful and felt the importance of univeristy leaders taking decisive action against harassment, especially before it escalates. The panel also talked about accommodations for different disabilities and how flexibility, particularly with non-academic aspects of a program, can really help students achieve their goals. Key advice here is that the first step is to simply ask students what they need. Thanks to the local organizers for this event: Madeline Berezowski, Manuela Golban, Juxin Liu, Chris Soteros, Ray Spiteri
WIM Mentorship Lunch at CMS Summer Meeting (June 2023)
The WIM Speed Mentorship Luncheon was a success!
Things worked according to plan: at the door, participants were assigned to three groups: mentors, and two different groups of mentees (we used coloured stickers to mark the members of the different group). They were then equally distributed between the tables with about 2-3 mentors per table. Every 15 minutes or so, mentees would move at the sound of a whistle, while mentors would stay at their tables. One group of mentees moved clockwise and the other counterclockwise, so as to maximize diversity in each table. Each table had a laminated sheet of discussion topics (link to pdf of topics). It was well attended; there were about 70 participants, and 11 tables. Feel free to try this format and make use of our discussion questions for an event at your own institution!
WIM Luncheon Announcement:
Dear Women in Math,
Will you be at the upcoming CMS Summer Meeting in Ottawa?
If so, please consider joining us for our Speed Mentoring lunch. At the lunch during the Saturday lunch break, you will have the opportunity to connect with others at various stages of their careers, to discuss issues affecting women in math. Participants will be seated in small groups, and will rotate table to table at various points during the lunch, so that they will be able to meet and converse candidly with a variety of individuals. This lunch is free for those registered to attend the CMS Summer Meeting, but an additional registration is required by May 22. Since space is limited, we ask that you only register if you plan to attend, and that you cancel your registration if your plans change. We look forward to connecting with many of you at the CMS Women in Math Mentorship Lunch!
Women and Gender Minorities in Math Groups Summit Meeting (May 2023)
On May 30, 2023 we hosted a summit meeting of different women in math groups across the country. It was great to meet everyone and hear about their different efforts to promote women in math. It was really worthwhile to meet and connect and we are planning to make this a more regular event.
The links to the presentation slides are below:
One of the big topics at the event was the additional work required to organize EDI events and the potential for burnout. The CMS WMC would like to help to support the groups working to promote women and gender minorities in math. If you want to help with events you can join our volunteer network (link to below) If you are looking for help, try contacting us and we can connect you to our volunteer network and perhaps give advice on how to organize and fund events.
Summit Meeting Announcement:
We would like to invite you to attend a summit meeting of groups across Canada supporting Women and Gender Minorities in Mathematics. This is an event being organized by the Canadian Math Society’s Women in Math Committee. This will be a chance for the groups across the country to meet each other and start building a network of Women and Gender Minorities in Math groups.
Our plan for the summit is to invite members from different groups to discuss the initiatives they have been doing in their own communities. We hope that this will be inspiring, and give your group new ideas and contacts. We will like to discuss what challenges we are facing, and what activities and initiatives people would like to see organized.
The summit will be held on Tuesday May 30, 2023 at the following time: ( 1:30 – 2:30 Newfoundland / 1:00-2:00 Atlantic / 12 – 1:00 Eastern / 11 – 12:00 Central / 10:00 -11:00 am Mountain / 9:00 -10:00 Pacific )
We would like to have representatives from as many different groups as possible. Even if your group is small or just getting started, we would love to hear about your group’s ideas and past or future activities. If you are willing to share information about your group (5-10min), please let us know and we will add you to the schedule.
Careers in Math Day (June 2022)
A day of panels and discussions on jobs one can have with a math degree and how to get them.
For more information visit: https://sites.google.com/view/get-a-math-job/
Connecting Women in Mathematics Across Canada (CWiMAC) (June 2021)
A workshops to support the career development of junior women-identified academics in the Canadian mathematics community.
For more information visit: https://summer21.cms.math.ca/index.php/cwimac/
Contact Us
If you have an event you would like us to promote send information to this address: chair-wmc@cms.math.ca
Also, if you want to join our email list go to: https://cms.simplelists.com/
Under the “List” choose : wmc-plus (Women in Mathematics Committee plus list)
Volunteer Network
We are working on building a network of Canadian Mathematics who are interested in volunteering with the CMS Women in Math Committee. Mostly we would like to have people who are able to help organize events at CMS conferences, but we might also be looking for help with the next Connecting Women in Math Across Canada event. If you are interested in joining our volunteer crew please fill out the following survey:
