Equity in STEM Starts At the Root: Our Conversation with Science Sam

May 13

Knowledge generated in STEM belongs to everyone. It should be as accessible, inclusive, and widespread as possible. That’s why, on April 9, 2025, the Courage to Act Foundation proudly launched our flagship initiative, At the Root, with a powerful conversation featuring Dr. Samantha Yammine, better known as Science Sam.

Dr. Yammine is a neuroscientist-turned-science-communicator known for making complex science relatable and real. With over 175,000 followers on Instagram, she hosts the hit podcast Curiosity Weekly and regularly appears on CTV’s The Good Stuff with Mary Berg. But more than that, she’s a dedicated advocate for equity, access, and safety in STEM.

In our candid conversation with Science Sam, we explored how gender-based violence and sexual harassment, systemic inequities, and outdated academic norms are shaping who stays in STEM. Here are some of the key truths she shared:

The pipeline isn’t leaky, it’s broken:

The “leaky pipeline” in STEM is a myth. Women and gender-diverse people aren’t simply drifting away from STEM career paths. They’re being actively pushed out by unsafe and exclusionary environments. Sector leaders in STEM must stop focusing only on recruitment and start investing in retention, safety, and belonging.

Diversity shouldn’t be an afterthought:

Diverse perspectives don’t just add value, they create it. When STEM includes people of different genders, races, identities, and lived experiences, it produces knowledge that’s more robust, applicable, and innovative. Without these voices, we’re limiting what’s possible for the future of innovation.

Representation matters:

For young people, seeing someone who looks like them in a lab coat, on a panel, or in a headline changes their definitions of what’s possible. Positive representation of women, gender-diverse, and racialized people in media, classrooms, and leadership positions can demonstrate that everyone belongs in science. Media platforms must do more to amplify marginalized voices in STEM, not just occasionally, but consistently.

The hidden curriculum impacts everyone:

As a first-generation student in STEM, Sam spoke about navigating academia without an instruction manual – not knowing where to look for information, lacking mentorship, and constantly decoding unwritten rules. These invisible barriers disproportionately affect students from equity-deserving groups and must be dismantled if we want innovation in STEM to thrive.

The full recording of our conversation with Science Sam is now live on YouTube and available in English and French.

You can also download our official transcript for the event.

How our work fits in:

At the Root is more than a project; it’s a mission to transform STEM experiential learning opportunities for women and gender-diverse people. We’re equipping educators, employers, and institutions with the tools they need to recognize harm, respond appropriately, and build safer learning spaces. This includes:

A series of interactive Learning Labs, launching Summer 2025
Resources for responding to incidents of sexual harassment in STEM-focused experiential learning
Protocol guidelines for building safer, more inclusive STEM work opportunities
Policy and legislative recommendations for lasting, systemic change

If we want science to reflect the world it serves, we must change the culture that shapes it! That means centring survivors, listening to young people, challenging the status quo, and building spaces where everyone can thrive.

As Dr. Yammine reminded us: “Don’t let anyone dim your love for science… but also, trust your gut. If it doesn’t feel safe, it probably isn’t. And that’s not your fault.”

Let’s work together to create STEM learning and work opportunities where no one has to choose between their safety and their future.

Jocelyn Courneya