Join us, November 20 & 21, 2025

ONWiE Summit & 20th Anniversary celebration!

Hosted on at McMaster University Campus.

Featuring a keynote address from Kirsty Duncan

THE EXCLUSION EFFECT: HOW THE SCIENCES DISCOURAGE GIRLS & WOMEN & WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

As a newly minted PhD in medical geography, Kirsty Duncan led an international expedition to remote Svalbard, Norway to search for the cause of the deadly 1918 influenza. What should have been a rewarding intellectual adventure turned out to be an unwanted baptism into the unbridled sexism and privilege of the scientific community. Ever since, she has devoted herself to the support of girls and women in scientific endeavours.

While women have come a long way in science, there is still far to go. They remain under-represented, under-paid, under-published, and under the shadows of male scientists who are assumed, without evidence, to have innate capacities that women lack. Duncan identifies systemic biases in the assessment of girls’ abilities and the teaching of science in the home, the classroom, our communities, and professional life. She makes a powerful argument for cultural and institutional change to ensure girls and women their rightful place in the scientific community.

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Summit agenda and registration information as well as a call for abstracts will be posted in the coming months.