WIC would like to announce a change to our mission statement and organization name. We voted in our December general body meeting to update our statement (full text below) and change our name to Women+ in Chemistry (WIC+, pronounced “wick plus”). The “+” indicates that WIC+ welcomes anyone who identifies with our mission, which may include cis and trans women, non-binary people, and others who are marginalized on the basis of gender.
These language changes are part of a broader effort to create a gender-inclusive community. Historically, WIC+ has centered cis women, and we are actively working to change that. We are focusing on taking concrete actions that put our mission into practice, and are changing our language to reflect these actions.
WIC+ executive board members and general members will be working over the coming weeks to update our website, logo, and other name references. We ask that department members use our new name and acronym moving forward as well.
Please contact wicplusexec@mit.edu if you want to find out more about the language we chose, our decision and voting process, or the other actions WIC+ is taking. And as always, please reach out if you want to get involved with WIC+!