OSPE - The Voice - December 2017 - 10

news

#weaCforum:
a smashING suCCess
Over 160 guests gathered on Saturday, October 28th for the
15th Annual Claudette-MacKay Lassonde Fall Forum.
Organized by OSPE's Women in Engineering Advocacy
Committee (WEAC), the forum is the focal point for OSPE's
advocacy efforts related to women in engineering.
Sandro Perruzza, OSPE's CEO, and Jonathan Hack, P.Eng.,
MBA, OSPE President and Chair, joined forces to welcome
guests, sponsors, and speakers.
The pair noted that, OSPE is committed as an organization
to moving this critical conversation forward.
Shelly Deitner, P.Eng., WEAC Chair, emceed the event and
thanked attendees for their engagement. She also encouraged
guests to spread the word about the Fall Forum, as well as their
key learnings and observations, by using the #WEACForum.
As one of our Platinum Sponsors, OSPE was delighted to
welcome Amee Sandhu, Head of Compliance Operations at
SNC-Lavalin, to introduce Ontario's Minister of the Status of
Women, the Honorable Indira Naidoo-Harris who explained
that "gender diversity is good for the economy, it's good for
our workforce, it's good for our bottom lines and frankly, it's
good for our communities... It's when we get different people
involved, with different voices and different ideas that we
actually create that amazing environment that pushes people
beyond their limits and lets them think about things beyond
their backyard and beyond their own experiences."
Dr. Valerie Davidson, P.Eng., University Professor Emerita,
School of Engineering, University of Guelph set the landscape
for the conference.
Dr. Davidson provided an update on OSPE's new "Breaking
Barriers" project, funded by Status of Women Canada. The
project will address the systemic barriers facing women in
STEM and develop technology-driven learning tools and
resources to support and retain women in STEM disciplines
and professions.

Eleana Rodriguez, MBA, Principal and Business Development Leader
at Mercer's North American Career Products

The VOICe

December 2017

To learn more,
visit letsbreakbarriers.ca
and take our survey.
Engineers
Canada's
Jeannette
Southwood, FCAE, FEC, LL.D. (h.c.), P.Eng., IntPE, VicePresident of Strategy and Partnerships, and Julia Chehaiber,
Practice Lead, Community Engagement, took to the podium to
share current statistics and next steps for the 30 by 30 initiative.
Recognizing the role employers and industries play in
supporting and retaining women in the engineering profession,
the first panel focused on Corporate Best Practices.
Emanuela Heyninck, Ontario's Pay Equity Commissioner,
joined us to provide an overview of the gender wage gap in
Ontario and to share insights from her work on the Gender
Wage Gap Steering Committee.
The gender wage gap equates to $18 billion in foregone
income per year for all working women in Ontario, or about
2.5% of Ontario's annual Gross Domestic Product.
To round out the discussion on compensation, Eleana
Rodriguez, MBA, Principal and Business Development Leader
at Mercer's North American Career Products, presented on the
gender wage gap in engineering.
Eleana shared compensation data from Mercer by
engineering responsibility level, and some insight as to why
women leave the profession. She highlighted proactive steps
employers can take to promote equality in the workplace.
Four accomplished academic leaders discussed the unique
ways their post-secondary institutions recruit and support
women students and their female faculty.
Kathy Lerette, CET, Senior Vice President of Business
Transformation at Alectra Utilities, moderated the fourth panel.
Guest speakers from the accounting, legal, and architectural
fields enriched the discussion by sharing what steps these
professions have taken to support and retain women.
Last but certainly not least, the conference would not have
been possible without the generous support of our sponsors.
Thank you for making this sold-out event a tremendous success.
We hope to see you all back next year for the 16th annual
WEAC Fall Forum!

http://www.letsbreakbarriers.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - December 2017