Thank you.
I think I mentioned the dimensions program, which was started by Madam Chair, and which is just in its pilot phase now. I think it has 17 institutions across the country that are gathering information about what the barriers are. We're all going to be developing practices that can help. The changes that have been made to many of the programs, the changes and attention that have been given to equity, diversity and inclusion have meant that at UBC many of the new hires in science are women. I think where we struggle a little bit more is actually with more diverse groups. More attention is being given to that as well now, but it takes a long time to start changing the faculty complement. If we can start to ensure that our undergraduate populations are very gender-balanced, which they are in many cases, we start seeing that not every program, but many programs, have improved. It takes a long time.
Where we're seeing the biggest barriers are really for people from diverse cultures and backgrounds who might be first-generation university students who aren't necessarily attuned to how one might get involved in research. That's where I think focused attention could really help ensure that we have the input to the pipeline to enable that over time, so that they become the leaders in technology, the leaders in companies, the leaders in academia.
