2026-10-05 - 2026-10-09
Pauline Gagnon
Retired Senior Research Scientist, Indiana University
What can you do when you witness discrimination, harassment, exclusion, or other inappropriate behaviour? Speaking up directly is one option — but it is far from the only one.
In this interactive workshop, participants will explore practical ways of becoming an active bystander. What can you do when a colleague is repeatedly interrupted or their ideas are dismissed? When someone is excluded because of stereotypes or language? When you witness a racist remark, sexual harassment, or the undermining of someone in a leadership role?
After a short introduction, we will work in small groups with realistic scenarios inspired by situations observed in academic and professional environments. Together, we will explore different ways of responding, discuss their possible impact, and consider which approaches may work best in different situations.
The aim is to expand your repertoire of possible responses and help you feel better prepared to act when something is not right.
