Safe Zone Ally Training Workshops are interactive training sessions that seek to raise awareness for LGBTQ+ inclusion in STEM and create a visible network of allies to foster a supportive atmosphere for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Our workshops are intended for an STEM audience and were developed by STEM faculty, with input from STEM students and scholars of engineering culture. Our workshops emphasize issues and behaviors that are likely to be observed and experienced in a STEM environment. Our workshops explore resources and best practices that work particularly well in STEM classrooms and environments.
Safe Zone Ally Training Level 1 workshops focus on understanding LGBTQ+ concepts, LGBTQ+ identity development and the coming out process, and simple strategies for building an inclusive environment and being an LGBTQ+ ally.
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1
Understand the importance of building knowledge and skills to contribute to safer, more welcoming, and inclusive environments.
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2
Be able to articulate the differences between sex, gender, and sexual orientation and define key LGBTQ+ terminology.
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3
Be able to describe the implications of normative assumptions and gain an understanding of the identity development and coming out process for LGBTQ+ individuals.
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4
Identify strategies that contribute to inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Safe Zone Ally Training Level 2 workshops explore aspects of engineering culture that act as barriers to LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion, the concepts and implications of privilege and bias, how to disrupt discrimination, and tips for creating an inclusive classroom environment.
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1
Understand the importance of building knowledge and skills to contribute to safer, more welcoming, and inclusive environments.
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2
Be able to define privilege and bias in the context of gender and sexual identities.
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3
Be able to explain some LGBTQ+ experiences in society and recognize what the climate is like for LGBTQ+ individuals in engineering and STEM.
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4
Identify strategies that contribute to inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Safe Zone Trans Allyship workshops explore transgender-specific terms and concepts, the climate for trans individuals in society and in STEM and its broader implications, and action strategies for trans allies.
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1
Understand the importance of building knowledge and skills to contribute to safer, more welcoming, and inclusive environments.
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2
Be able to articulate the differences between sex and gender as they relate to trans individuals.
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3
Recognize what the climate is like for trans individuals in society, the classroom, and the workplace and be able to describe its impact on trans individuals.
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4
Identify strategies that contribute to inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly trans individuals.
I felt deeply connected to the group and our collective journey to understanding.
2017 Safe Zone Workshop Participant
[The most valuable thing about this workshop was] being exposed to different perspectives and realizing why it is important to explicitly be more inclusive.