OSPE - The Voice - December 2017 - 16

NEWS

Breaking Barriers for women
in sTem
By Tess O'Mara

"Women continue to be underrepresented in the STEM
professions and our organization
is determined to change this.
We are proud to work with
the Government of Canada on
this project, which will bring
together students, educational
institutions, employers and
governments to find ways to
overcome the systemic barriers
that keep women from advancing
in STEM."
- Sandro Perruzza, CEO
Ontario Society of
Professional Engineers
16

The VOICe

December 2017

Over 15 years ago, I was one of eight women graduating from the Mechanical
Engineering program at Western. After a supportive and encouraging academic stint,
I was eager to start and grow my engineering career. However, I quickly found myself
having to navigate gendered biases and sexism that were entrenched in the workplace.
Others have described it as enduring a thousand tiny cuts. Small things accumulating
over time such as my decisions constantly being second guessed, to shrugging off daily
comments about why a woman is here, to always being the team member assigned the
administrative tasks. The last straw came when polaroid photos of my backside and
another female colleague were posted in the breakroom bulletin board with the caption
"Welcome to the new Engineers in Training". After that I moved out of engineering and
shifted gears into consulting and international development where I could apply my
engineering skills to solve non-technical problems.
Fast forward to today, and women are still underrepresented in STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math) careers, they continue to face barriers such
as gender bias and sexism, and where as a result, they continue to leave those
professions behind.
This past fall, OPSE received $385,000 from Status of Women Canada for a threeyear project to address barriers that contribute to the under-representation of women
in STEM. Through "Breaking Barriers for Women in STEM," OSPE is partnering with
organizations like OACETT, PEO, Engineers Canada, Electricity Human Resource
Canada and employers such as Alectra. The overall goal of the project is to identify
the systemic barriers women face and to develop promising practices and policy
recommendations to break those barriers down.
This initiative is part of an investment by the federal government to support grassroots
organizations and engage 150 women leaders across the country. These leaders are
working together as part of a pan-Canadian network to support feminist action for
gender equality at the national level. This project is championed by three successful
women and change leaders in STEM fields. Kathy Lerette, C.E.T. is an executive-level
engineering and operations professional in the energy industry and serves as Senior
Vice President, Business Transformation at Alectra Utilities. Annette Bergeron, P.Eng.,
MBA, President-elect, Engineers Canada was recognized as one of the Top 25 Women of
Influence across Canada. Valerie Davidson, P.Eng., PhD, Professor Emerita, University

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