Symposium
for Inclusivity

Uniting voices, celebrating differences: Creating an inclusive world together.

Diversity is a strength at CIS that we highlight as what makes us who we are. We embrace a vision of diversity that moves beyond traditional ideas of ethnicity, religion, race, or nationality to include gender and gender identification, physical diversity, neural diversity, to name a few. Our students are our leaders in respecting diversity as their experiences with continued and new forms of discrimination and their desire to transform how people view others different from themselves. This is what drives our Inclusivity Program at CIS.

Five years ago, a few students came to us concerned about some new students in our school who called other students derogatory names based on gender, gender orientation, and other slurs that our community does not accept as ok. From organized conversations among students and faculty that grew from a dozen to 100s of people, our Annual Symposium for Inclusivity was born. This annual event celebrates and develops awareness and practices in our community with the support of experts in the real world who fight for change every day. We have a long way to go, but by listening to and empowering our students, we know we will all continue to learn how we can be more inclusive of the ever-diverse world we live in.

“As a parent to a son and daughter, I saw how they were treated differently by others. It's a social norm we have all been raised to follow. This year, I am reminded that I need to inspire my children to challenge those gender stereotypes and break them with their own accomplishments,” said Rishi Mehra, Parent, CIS.

“It’s hard to believe that in 2023, we are still discussing how women today continue to struggle against inequality at a global scale. Education is a means to an end when it comes to helping increase gender parity and decrease gender biases. Motivating students of all genders to think about career paths that meet their own personal goals rather than community stereotypes is incredibly important. Creating and fostering programs of study that encourage girls to step into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math beyond the typical city limits will further this effort. Making STEM education available in rural schools and increasing the connectivity and digital access to all students and women in India, will help us as a country rise to be the true powerhouse of knowledge we aim to achieve.” said Ms. Shweta Sastri, Managing Director

said Ms. Shweta Sastri,
Managing director