‘If we make informed and thoughtful choices, it can catalyse diversity in our community’

On 27 February 2024, Assistant Professor Jaana Vapaavuori hosted a breakfast event to catalyze all kinds of diversities, in conjunction with the U.N. Day of Women and Girls in Science. Different diversities can be, for example: ideas, identities, representations, backgrounds, experiences, and bodies.

A talk was given by Assistant Professor Luana Dessbesell.

‘For instance, the last thing that I heard was that maybe I shouldn’t hire someone with kids, because it might take longer for them to complete their PhDs. And I think that if the system has such flaws, we should help fix them.’

A panel discussion brought together the perspectives of Staff Scientist Martin Lennox, Assistant Professor Gopika Premsankar, and Assistant Professor Mashrura Musharraf. They agreed that we should make sure that everyone is able to participate.

‘We need open discussions, where we can share our experiences,’ said Premsankar.

‘I think we should openly reflect and talk about our experiences,’ Musharraf added.

Helping team members and others is important. How can I support you is one of the truly powerful questions.

‘If we can all examine our choices in the way we interact with people. Sometimes, we don’t know how the smallest gesture can affect people. If we make informed and thoughtful choices, it can catalyse diversity in our community,’ Lennox said.

‘And we should be able to catalyse diversity in a way that it’s not an added task on top of everything else, but it should be embedded in our duties and contracts,’ Dessbesell said.