Can you name 10 Black Canadians who have made significant contributions to life in Canada? That was a question posed by Vicki Olatundon, a motivational speaker, during a Black History Month presentation. (More on this later.)
Here’s another question: what does Black representation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) look like in Canada? From the Statistics Canada website,
- 71,365 Black Canadians 25 years and older had a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree in STEM (in 2016).
Also,
- In 2021, Black Canadians in the core age group (25 to 54 years) were more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (41.1%) than people in the same age group who did not belong to a visible minority and were not Indigenous (34.2%).
- In 2016, almost 7 in 10 Black adults had a postsecondary diploma.
- In 2016, although 94% of Black youth aged 15 to 25 said that they would like to get a bachelor’s degree or higher, 60% thought that they could.
Jennifer D. Adams is the Canada Research Chair of Creativity and STEM and an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary. She writes, in The Conversation, “we have to understand the systemic barriers that students experience in their pursuit of STEM in Canada. [Dr. Adams is conducting research on this.] In the U.S., research has described barriers such as lack of effective mentors, hostile learning environments, experiences of biases and microaggressions, whiteness and patriarchal cultures of science and lack of institutional support structures to foster retention and success.”
While Black students have hurdles to overcome in their pursuit of education, Black professionals face challenges too. Ms. Olatundon told the audience that her husband is a scientist who is regularly met with disbelief and skepticism when he announces his profession. Women scientists also encounter these reactions, but society’s perception may be slowly changing if one can extrapolate from the results of 50 years of kids drawing scientists. As we know from research, role models are essential and “be what you see” campaigns, like in this video, exist for this reason.
Even more fraught is the situation for women of colour who experience a “double-bind” of race and gender (according to Dr. Adams) “when negotiating barriers and challenges in STEM pursuits.”
Resources
As I researched the topic of Black people in STEM, I came across the Canadian Black Scientists Network (CBSN). Its mission is “to elevate, make visible, celebrate and connect Black Canadians possessing or pursuing advanced degrees in STEMM” – the additional “M” representing medicine/health.
This much-needed group is hosting conferences and promoting knowledge translation, doing youth outreach and advocacy, raising awareness of issues and successes, recommending policy, and more. Importantly, it is developing a timeline and milestones for achieving equity.
The Black Engineers of Canada (BEC) is also worth getting to know. Their website says “We want a world where Black people excel in their chosen engineering profession without limitations that are caused by societal biases. Black Engineers of Canada’s mission is to provide an enabling environment for growth and leadership by developing pathways to excellence for Black engineers and engineering graduates in Canada.” Their programs focus on professional development, mentoring, networking and leadership.
Black physicians and medical trainees can find a treasure trove of information, helpful resources and mentoring support at Black Physicians of Canada. They have a resource page that is called “The Solutions” and it is filled with information under headings like mental health, barriers, bias, underrepresentation, lack of diversity, hostile work environments, social isolation, and more. There are articles about Black physicians in the media and a page that celebrates successes. It’s a great site.
So back to Ms. Olatundon’s question about naming 10 Black Canadians who have made significant contributions to life in Canada. Were you successful? If you need some help, Amanda Roberts has compiled a list of Black Canadians who have influenced Canadian history for Slice magazine. These are 10 women and men who are mostly household names, many of them still living today or alive in the 20th century. I’m adding an additional list of five Black Canadians who were scientists, engineers and members of the medical community, courtesy of Science Rendezvous.
Conversations and education on Black history shouldn’t be confined to one month, nor should it be ignored until next February. I encourage you to watch this video of “three black scientists you need to know,” hosted by Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock.
Stacey Johnson
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