Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)
BIRS is committed to providing a welcoming environment to all participants at BIRS events. It is our goal to host workshops that are demographically diverse and to foster opportunities for career growth and development that are inclusive to all.
The collection of information from our participants is one way that BIRS supports this goal. This information enables us to see trends, improvements, and shortfalls in the diversity of our participants. Ultimately, it provides data that can be used for evidence-based decision-making to promote greater inclusion and diversity within mathematics.
Organizers and participants invited to indicate their interest in a given proposal are required to complete the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey.
While your response is mandatory, you have the option to select Prefer not to answer for any/all of the questions if you choose not to self-identify. There is no penalty for selecting Prefer not to answer.
Certain questions in the survey are marked with a † symbol. Only after at least 10 people have responded to a survey, a collection of the aggregate data pertaining to these questions (marked †) will appear in the Demographic Charts page of an organizer's proposal.
Answers to all other questions provided in the survey can only be viewed by BIRS staff, and only on a need-to-know basis. These responses are collated every year across all programs for BIRS’s annual reporting.
The organizers will see aggregate responses (out of a minimum of 10) to only the following four questions (marked with a † symbol) from the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey:
- What is your country of citizenship?†
- Responses will be labelled as Nationality. For example:
- How would you describe your ethnicity?†
- Responses will be labelled as Ethnicity and will appear as Arab; Black; Chinese; Filipino; Indigenous (within North America); Japanese; Korean; Hispanic/Latin American; South Asian (e.g., Indian Pakistani, Sri Lankan); Southeast Asian (e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai); West Asian (e.g., Iranian, Afghan); White; Other and Prefer not to answer . For example:
- How do you describe your gender?†
- Responses will be labelled as Gender and will appear only as Man, Woman, and Other to the organizers. The category Other corresponds to the sum total of survey responses obtained in the categories of Other, Prefer not to answer, and Gender fluid and/or non-binary.
- Do you consider yourself to be part of an under-represented minority in STEM?†
- Responses will be labelled as Under-represented minority in STEM and will appear as Yes, No, and Prefer not to answer to the organizers. For example:
No other responses to other questions from the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey will be provided to the organizers. Note that organizers will also see responses to the question of Career Stage; this is a question asked before someone completes the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey.
No. Your answers on the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey are not used for assessing the merits of the proposal in any way and are not shared with the reviewers. This survey is primarily about self-identification, and there is no correct or incorrect answer.
There is an EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) assessment element in the proposal evaluation, and the requirements for this are outlined in the proposal guidelines and application. Your proposal’s EDI assessment will be made using the information provided solely in your proposal, not on any information offered in the survey.
Taking part in this survey is a compulsory part of the application/participation process. However, we recognize that individuals may prefer not to share their responses to some questions. Each question has the option Prefer not to answer, which respondents are invited to use for any questions they feel uncomfortable answering.
A survey that is answered by selecting Prefer not to answer for every answer will be considered a fully completed survey that meets the mandatory requirement.
If you still have concerns about participating in the survey, you can discuss it further with the BIRS Program Coordinator at birs@birs.ca.
Your responses will be stored electronically upon submission. Your information will remain confidential, and it will only be used or disclosed as authorized under the Freedom of Information Protection and Privacy Act (FIPPA) and The Banff Centre's privacy policy (if applicable).
Should you have any questions about the collection or use of information, please contact the BIRS Program Coordinator at birs@birs.ca.
Upon indicating your interest for a BIRS proposal, you will be automatically redirected to the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey. The first page will provide a description of the survey’s purpose and a disclaimer, which notes that completing the survey is a mandatory step in the RSVP process. You are encouraged, but not required, to self-identify, and responding with Prefer not to answer has no consequences or effect on a given proposal. To continue, check off the acknowledgement box and click Submit Query to view the survey.
The survey consists of 9 questions related to self-identity. Questions 1 (country of citizenship) and 3 (ethnicity) allow for multiple selections—you can select all those that apply while pressing Ctrl/⌘ on your keyboard. All other questions allow one selection only. You are encouraged to select the response that best describes you.
Once you complete the questions, you can click Submit, which will bring you to a confirmation page that thanks you for your response. You will not receive a confirmation email from your submission. At this point, you can close the survey window.
BIRS is committed to providing a welcoming environment to all participants at BIRS events. It is our goal to host workshops that are demographically diverse and to foster opportunities for career growth and development that are inclusive to all.
The collection of information from our participants is one way that BIRS supports this goal. This information enables us to see trends, improvements, and shortfalls in the diversity of our participants. Ultimately, it provides data that can be used for evidence-based decision-making to promote greater inclusion and diversity within mathematics.
This is in line with the approach taken by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), among others. If you would like more insight into this policy, a great resource is Science.gc.ca: Self-Identification Data Collection in Support of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
The Diversity and Inclusivity Survey primarily focuses on five common dimensions to evaluate diversity: ethnicity, geographical diversity, sexual orientation, gender, and disability. We recognize that diversity has many different markers, and we acknowledge that we have not covered them all explicitly here. These five markers were chosen, because they are common across all attendees of BIRS; they represent groups that have traditionally been disproportionately under-represented in the mathematics community; and they are generally quantifiable, which is essential given the intended use of the data (to be used for evidence-based decision-making to promote greater inclusion and diversity within mathematics).
It is also important to note there are no static definitions of race or ethnicity, and our understanding of gender and sexual orientation are evolving. While there are some commonly used definitions, these terms are socially constructed and multidimensional, and they change over time. Self-identifying questions are used throughout the survey to ensure we capture the fullest picture of our participants, without limiting our participants to frameworks that may not accurately describe their experiences.
Individuals are able and encouraged to self-identify for each of the questions in the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey. Some questions allow for multiple responses by selecting all those that apply while pressing Ctrl/⌘, while others may limit responses to one selection for data reportability reasons.
The gender question in the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey prompts you to indicate the identity (or term) that best describes you at the present time. The question does not ask about sex assigned at birth or sexual orientation. “Gender” refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions, and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender diverse people. It influences how people perceive themselves and each other and how they act and interact; it also influences the distribution of power and resources in society.
Gender is sometimes oversimplified as a binary (girl/women and boy/man), yet there is considerable diversity in how individuals and groups understand, experience, and express gender. The response option provided in the self-identification form of “gender fluid and/or non-binary person” recognizes this diversity. “Gender fluid” refers to a person whose gender identity or expression changes or shifts along the gender spectrum. “Non-binary” refers to a person whose gender identity does not align with a binary understanding of gender, such as man or woman.
Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer (or Questioning), Intersex, Asexual (or sometimes Ally). The placement of Two Spirit (2S) first is to recognize that Indigenous people are the first peoples of this land, and their understanding of gender and sexuality precedes colonization. The + is for all the new and growing ways we become aware of sexual orientations and gender diversity.
The Indigenous identity question in the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey asks whether you identify as an Indigenous person. This question is about personal identity, not legal status or registration. In Canada, the term “Indigenous” encompasses First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people, either collectively or separately, and is a preferred term in international usage (e.g., the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/5session_factsheet1.pdf ). In its derivation from international movements, it is associated more with activism than government policy and so has emerged, for many, as the preferred term.
It also encompasses all those who consider themselves indigenous to lands outside of the territories now known as Canada and the United States. Outside Canada, you may indicate whether you identify as an Indigenous in your country of origin or residence.
The disability question in the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey prompts you to indicate if you identify as a person with a disability. The question refers to how the user personally identifies, not whether the user has ever qualified for a disability benefit under the Canada Pension Plan or other legally defined programs.
A person with disability is someone who:
- Has a significant and persistent mobility, sensory, learning, or other physical or mental health impairment, which may be permanent or temporary;
- Experiences functional restrictions or limitations of their ability to perform the range of life’s activities; and/or
- May experience attitudinal and/or environmental barriers that hamper their full and self-directed participation in life.
We recognize that barriers to inclusion are often related to a society’s norms, attitudes, and beliefs, rather than the capacity of the person.
BIRS firmly believes that all attendees should be treated with respect and dignity and will make accommodations where possible to ensure that everyone is able to fully engage with the workshops, regardless of disability, impairment, or medical conditions.
Some practical steps might include working with the catering and hospitality team to ensure that there are appropriate food and accommodation options, or perhaps ensuring the location and contents of the workshops are accessible. It may involve providing information on various support available in the vicinity of the conference, such as medical centres, even if those services are not provided directly by BIRS.
If you are hoping to participate in a workshop but have concerns about how your participation will be supported, please email the BIRS Program Coordinator at birs@birs.ca to discuss accommodations that can be made to suit your unique needs.
The term URM is commonly used in reference to racial and ethnic populations, but it can also refer to other identities, such as gender or sexual identity.
In the Diversity and Inclusivity Survey, we use the definition that an under-represented minority is “any group that is disproportionately represented relative to its numbers in the general population.” What may or may not be considered a minority will vary depending on the situation in question and the population to whom it's relative. For this reason, we have not included a strict definition of who is regarded as a minority, and we instead ask people to self-identify given their knowledge and experience of their own circumstances.
An example of the situational nature of minority status might be the prevalence of women in mathematics in Canada. They are not considered to be a URM in mathematics at the undergraduate level in Canada, but they could be considered underrepresented at the Honours level. Likewise, a Latinx mathematician working in Canada might self-identify as a member of an URM due to their ethnicity, while a Latinx mathematician in Mexico working in the same field may not.