Chemistry professor Tricia Carmichael has been elected director of equity, diversity, and inclusion for the board of the Canadian Society for Chemistry.

A national, not-for-profit professional organization under the umbrella of the Chemical Institute of Canada, the society is the technical organization for Canadian chemists, bringing together professionals and students from across the country. It plays an important role in the careers of Canadian chemists by providing access to career, educational, and networking opportunities; celebrating the achievements of the membership; and advocating on behalf of the membership to the federal and provincial governments.

As director of EDI, Dr. Carmichael will chair the Working for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (WIDE) committee, on which she has served since 2021.

“We work on embedding EDI principles into CSC policies, and providing education, videos and other forms of outreach to the membership,” Carmichael says. “I have an amazing team of people, students and faculty from across Canada, who are all volunteering their time for this because we are passionate about it.”

Along with bringing in inclusive policies, her role will ensure EDI is a consideration throughout the society, especially focusing on the annual national conference to ensure it is accessible and inclusive to allow everyone to participate, she says.

As a member of WIDE, Carmichael chaired a subcommittee which produced documents that embed EDI principals into different policies.

She says she will continue to champion collecting self-identification information as a method to ensure a science-based approach to EDI.

“We really need data, so we know who makes up our community,” says Carmichael. “Then we can use a research-based approach to advocate for different changes to ensure the chemistry community is reflected in different activities.

“It is needed, especially for students, to show them that they belong and so that they can see representation at all levels of the chemistry community.”