Projects

WWEST is currently working on a number of projects that support and promote girls and women in STEM, often in collaboration with outreach groups and other organizations. If you want to learn more about other projects and groups WWEST is involved with, you can find more information on our Partners Page

Current Projects:

In Plain Sight
"In Plain Sight" is a photojournalistic look at the lives and careers of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, where they are often overlooked. Women are underrepresented in these fields and are rarely seen in the media as STEM professionals. Deanna Flinn, of Free Admission Photography, has captured the aspects of these women's lives that are not often seen as congruent with a career in a STEM field. Things like family, community, advocacy, collaboration, and mentorship. WWEST hopes this exhibition allows the public to see women in STEM in a new way.

White Papers
WWEST is working on many new white papers to add to the collection created by the last WWEST chair. Our new White Papers are focused on career awareness in STEM. WWEST is also developing White Papers on negotiation and allyship in the workplace, computing careers, environmental science careers, and has published a new White Paper on sponsorship vs. mentorship.

Best of the WWEST
A podcast where we talk to women in STEM about their lives, jobs, inspirations, and everything in between.
 

STEM Outreach Apps
WWEST is working in partnership with NSERC, SFU Applied Sciences, Science AL!VE, and SFU Let's Talk Science to create a free open-source desktop application with three modules which will enable outreach groups to engage youth in computing science.

Media Depictions of Women in STEM Series
In the US, the Former Obama Administration's White House Council on Women and Girls and The Office of Science and Technology Policy released a fact sheet dealing with current problems relating to STEM depiction in the media, as well as strategies for solving them. This ongoing issue, and the former Adminstration's commitment to combatting this trend, inspired us here at WWEST to examine how fictional women in STEM are depicted in films and on television.

Past Projects:

Step-Up Workshop: Academic Advancement Strategies for Women in STEM
The WWEST Chair in conjunction with the NSERC CWSE National Network and Simon Fraser University are hosting the Step-up Workshop, a national workshop for Assistant and Associate Professors in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) who are looking ahead to tenure and promotion. Participants will get advice, support, and information on this strategic next step in their careers.

SFU STEM Outreach Collective
A collection of SFU groups that are focused on promoting outreach and engagement within STEM fields. Representatives from each group meet once a semester to collaborate. 

WWEST Associate Chairs Program
WWEST is proud to announce the WWEST Associate Chairs Program. This will establish up to three satellite WWEST programs across the BC/Yukon region at NSERC-eligible institutions to increase impact in communities outside the lower mainland of BC.

WinSETT Centre Workshop Series
In collaboration with the WinSETT Centre, WWEST hosted a series of five leadership workshops for women in science, engineering, technology, and trades. 

Creating Connections
A two-day conference that aims to engage industry, the community and students in BC and the Yukon to increase the regional awareness and participation of women and other underrepresented groups in STEM.

President's Dream Colloquium - Fall 2017
A free public lecture series hosted by SFU about attracting, retaining, and promoting women in technology, offered alongside a course for grad students.