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A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET

STEM DIVERSITY IN

Q&A

How Kyne Santos Became a Popular Drag Queen and STEM Educator Mediaplanet chatted with Kyne Santos, a world-class drag queen known simply as “Kyne” and best known for competing on Canada’s Drag Race — also a mathematics communicator who’s popular on TikTok, about making waves as both a drag queen and a math queen. How did you get into drag? I spent all my high school years playing with makeup on my YouTube channel and playing with clothes from the girls’ section, but the very first time I went on stage as a drag queen was in university in 2017. It was a Halloween show and I dressed up as a pop art zombie and lip-synced to “Turn Me On” by David Guetta and Nicki Minaj.

How did you make the move from drag queen to math queen? The drag was always a given because I’ve always thought it was more fun to appear online as a clown rather than my regular self. The math videos came about after I started using TikTok at the beginning of the pandemic. I had a YouTube channel with over 100,000 subscribers where I made wig and sewing tutorials, but I wanted to make TikTok videos in a different niche. I started posting math riddles because I wanted to share my love for my favourite subject!

What lesson do you want to share with youth who are interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? Growing up, I used to think I was too gay or too effeminate to be respected as a scientist or mathematician. It’s important to me now to show people that STEM is for everyone. All you need is an enthusiasm for learning.

How SCWIST Acts as a Diversity Champion for Women in STEM The Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology has been making strides for gender parity in STEM fields since 1981.

Ashley van der Pouw Kraan, SCWIST

ender parity is a crucial aspect of achieving a just and equitable world. It goes beyond merely ba la nci n g numbers — it involves recognizing and addressing the systemic biases that have historically marginalized women and non-binary individuals. Yet despite meaningful advancements, gender parity remains elusive in Canada. Policymakers at all levels of government play a pivotal role in driving gender equality. They must design and implement initiatives that promote equal representation, such as the 50-30 Challenge, which seeks 50 per cent representation of women and

30 per cent representation of other equity-seeking groups in board settings.

Establishing a level playing field Civil society organizations such as the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) also do vital work to dismantle barriers and establish a level playing field. The SCWIST’s policy team is excited to build on the federal government’s 50-30 campaign, stating: “Women and other equity-seeking groups have been historically underrepresented in STEM fields, therefore STEM companies are an essential part of achieving gender equality. By creating a STEM Diversity Champions

Dashboard, we’ve created a tangible tool for companies to monitor and benchma rk t heir progress in achieving 50-30, thus fostering a more equitable tomorrow for female scientists, engineers, and technologists.” SCWIST also runs several other programs to help achieve gender parity, including MakePossible, an online mentoring community, and Make DIVERSITY Possible, which helps organizations ensure that embracing diversity is at the forefront of their policies.

To learn more about all the programs that the SCWIST offers, visit scwist.ca. This article was sponsored by SCWIST.

Publisher: Layal El Masri Business Development Manager: Sarah Ferreira Senior Strategic Account Managers: Anna Sibiga, Sierra Nardella Strategic Account Director: Jessica Golyatov Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Production Lead: Michael Taylor Creative Lead: Kylie Armishaw Web Editor: Christina Morgan Digital Media Coordinator: Kristen Neals Digital Traffic Strategist: Karm Rathod Content Strategist: Nicole Kansakar All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The Toronto Star or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.

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