The ZI Gender Inclusion (ZIGI) group supports and advocates for people who have been historically marginalized in STEM fields due to their gender identity and expression. This includes (but is not limited to) women, gender nonbinary, genderqueer, transgender, agender, and bigender folks. 

Why do we believe this initiative is important? Several research studies have pointed to ‘leaky pipelines’ causing women and other gender minorities to leave scientific careers at higher rates than their cis-gender, male peers (Goulden et al., 2011; Adamo, 2013; Powell et al., 2020; Cech & Waidzunas, 2021). There may be many reasons for this attrition effect; however, gender biases, exclusionary and harassing behaviour, and systemic discrimination continue to prevent gender minorities from thriving in scientific careers. Moreover, recent data demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbates existing gender inequalities in academia (Andersen et al., 2020; Vincent-Lamarre et al. 2020). We believe that making the ZI more (gender-)diverse, equitable, and inclusive will result in better, more impactful science that everyone in our research community - and beyond - will benefit from. 

We aim to:

• Build a community for women & gender minorities at ZI through informal and formal networking opportunities
• Celebrate women & gender minorities at ZI, promote their science, and amplify their voices
• Create an inclusive, supportive, and safe space that allows community members to share the challenges they face
• Join forces with allies to discuss gender issues, increase awareness among the larger ZI community, and take action to drive positive change
• Use our own privilege to give back to others in our community and beyond