About

Who We Are

We are the Williams College student chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM).  The chapter was established in 2014 in response to the lack of existing structures or programming for women in math and the discrimination that went unnoticed both inside classrooms and out.  If you’re interested, contact us or come to a meeting!

Mission Statement

We are committed to making the math community more inclusive of and welcoming to members of underrepresented minorities in STEM.  We recognize the ways in which students experience discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, ability, and more, and we aim to raise awareness of these challenges and create initiatives that will combat this discrimination in the long run.

What We Do

We work on two levels: (1) we aim to provide a social space for members of underrepresented minorities in STEM who have felt uncomfortable in general math settings and (2) we work towards long-term structural changes that will make the Williams Math Department more inclusive.

For (1), we hold informal weekly dinner meetings in Upper Driscoll, social gatherings at Lickety or Goodrich, and dinners with professors or guest speakers.  To effect broader change (2), we have conducted focus groups, cosponsored panels with BSTEM, UNiCS, and Gender Minorities in Physics, and organized awareness campaigns around diversity in math.  We have also been working closely with the Math Department to brainstorm strategies to implement to increase enrollment and retention of underrepresented groups in math classes and to improve the experience of students in math classes.

Check out our past events and programming for more details.

Officer Board

Our advisor is Professor Chad Topaz.  Check out his awesome website.