Abstract
This final talk will be a reflection on the topics that have been discussed throughout the course of the symposium. We have collectively recognized the importance of putting issues about representation at the forefront of scientific discourse, mapped some of the current disparities in scientific practice, and heard about necessary and creative ways to address these imbalances. There are certain subdisciplines of vision science where these issues are more apparent than others, but regardless of the discipline we work in, the society within which scientific inquiry occurs shapes how it occurs. To conclude the discussion, I will describe how lived experience shapes our ability to participate in the scientific process and the role scientists can and should play in society. I will go over some existing resources that practitioners at all levels of academia can benefit from in centering equitability and fairness in their work and their lives.