ABSTRACT
In 1996, an NSERC Task Force report made 21 recommendations to increase the participation of women
in research in the science and engineering fields. One of the recommendations resulted in the creation of
five new 'regional' Chairs to build on previous work and multiply the efforts and visibility on this issue. In
addition to working on the general issues of attraction and retention, the work engages in a closer
analysis of the curriculum, structures, and conventions that mitigate against the full participation of many
women, especially at the higher echelons of the organizations.
Each of these regional Chairs will be assessed prior to termination of the first mandate (in the year 2002)
and renewal is possible for a second 5-year term if the evaluation is satisfactory. Canada has created a
unique opportunity to accelerate progress on the participation of women in the sciences and in the
engineering profession. This program also addresses the shortage of human resources in certain areas,
especially in the Information Technology sector, where women's participation is so low. In our efforts, we
will continue to work closely with the media to change societal perceptions of these careers. The results
expected from this level of activity and cooperation is bound to have a profound impact and a successful
outcome.
INTRODUCTION
The situation has improved considerably since 1989, and the national average enrolment of women in
Canadian engineering undergraduate programs has increased steadily, from 13 % nationally in 1989, to just
under 20 % in 1995. In Master's programs, the participation of women is also 20 %, it is 15 percent at the
doctoral level; and just under 7 % of faculty members in engineering are women. Enrolments have been
slightly higher in computer science and in physics than in engineering. However, this is far from the progress
achieved in Faculties of Law, Medicine, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine, which have reached gender
balance for some time. In Engineering, women are clustered in a few disciplines such as chemical, industrial,
and environmental engineering, and their enrolment in mechanical, computer , and electrical engineering
is low (9-12 percent). Many of today's well-paying jobs are in these fields.
Solutions to reach a gender balance in all engineering and science disciplines are numerous. We need to
destroy the stereotypes attached to some of the disciplines, particularly for physics and electrical and
mechanical engineering, by inviting women studying and/or working in these fields to visit schools and talk
about their work. This entails showing the humanistic components of the work, how we interact with people
to solve problems, work in teams much of the time, and don't spend all day in front of a computer screen.
This must start early, in elementary school. In secondary school, it is important to encourage students to
keep their options open by selecting mathematics and science courses, especially physics, chemistry, and
advanced mathematics; it is also essential to have all boys and girls take both home economics and
technology/shop courses. This will help the students in two ways: opening avenues for entering high tech
careers, and teaching them how to perform household chores and future parenting duties.
Empowering girls and young women to believe in themselves is another key objective of outreach programs.
Reaching parents, teachers, counsellors, and everyone connected with the education system is essential to
close the loop and get everyone's cooperation on removing obstacles and barriers.
Intervention Strategies in Canada: The last 10 years
In May 1989, NSERC (The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) announced that, in
partnership with Northern Telecom, a Chair on Women in Engineering would be established at the University
of New Brunswick, in Fredericton. The Chairholder's mandate was to spend half of her time as a role model
through fulfilling academic and scholarly functions (research, teaching, and supervision of graduate
students) and spend the other half on activities that would lead to an increased participation of women in this
profession, at all levels.
Just as Monique Frize was appointed as the first Chairholder, a tragic event occurred at Ecole Polytechnique
in Montreal. On December 6, 1989, a killer entered the engineering school, separated the women from the
men and killed fourteen women, thirteen of whom were final year mechanical engineering students. Several
factors such as the low enrolment of women in engineering in 1989, the new existence of the Chair, and the
tragic event in Montreal lead to the creation of the Canadian Committee on Women in Engineering (CCWE,
1992). This committee was composed of key representatives in the profession. The report, released in 1992,
made 29 recommendations to remove obstacles and find ways to increase women's participation at all
levels, from birth to retirement. Since that time, several recommendations have been implemented, but
much is left to be done.
The CCWE report was followed by another report extending the work to women in science and technology
(NABST, 1993). Then, in 1995, a national working conference was held in Fredericton to assess progress
on the implementation of the CCWE report. After a delivery of the progress reports by major constituents,
the more than 200 participants worked out what was left to be done through a series of workshops. The
results were published in an update report and can be found on the Ontario Chair's web site (Update, 1995).
In the same year, a Task Force was created by NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council), a national Granting Council, to examine the obstacles and potential biases that could limit women's
participation in research. The Task Force released a report containing 22 recommendations, all but one
addressed at NSERC, and one addressed at universities. The report is published on the internet (NSERC,
1996). Half of the recommendations were focused on issues of concern to women, but most can be benefit
both women and men. NSERC has already implemented a good number of these suggestions which,
amongst others, address policies, membership on committees, and manuals. One recommendation was to
create five new Regional Chairs in Women in Science and Engineering, to build on the work of the first Chair
and include the physical sciences in the new mandate. The competition for the grants was launched in
October 1996 and five Chairholders are now in place since the summer and fall of 1997.
What is New and Unique About the NSERC Program (Chairs in WISE)
The creation of the five Chairs has enabled five women faculty (at the Professor level), not only to be role
models, as high profile scientists and engineers, but also to devote approximately half of their time to issues
that currently limit the participation of women in the fields of science and engineering. Moreover, because
of the connectivity now existing between the Chairs, we all learn from each other and build on what is
successful, while sharing information on what does not work. The geographical division of the Chairs' is a
good fit with the country's physical size, sparse population (approximately 29 million), and the variation in
local culture. The original national Chair ceased to exist when Monique Frize moved to Ottawa to take up
the new Ontario Chair position. At a first meeting of the Chairs in Ottawa in August 1997, it was decided that
each Chairholder wouldact as 'coordinator of the Chairs' for one year. The coordinator calls meetings,
organises conference calls, distributes the minutes of the meetings, and initiates the publication of the
newsletter.
The chairholders meet on a regular basis, share a newsletter, and provide links to each other's web sites
and to many other related programs. Each Chair is developing a substantial network, reaching School
Boards, teachers, guidance counselors, parents' groups, students, Deans of Engineering and of Science
Faculties, employers of engineers, engineers, scientists, and professional and scientific associations. In
addition to working on the general issues of attraction and retention, the work engages in a closer analysis
of the curriculum, structures, and conventions that mitigate against the full participation of many women,
especially at the higher echelons of the organizations. A national conference (held every two to three years)
was held in May 1998, in Vancouver. The five Chairholders participated (and presented the regional plans)
and the elements of a national plan and strategy was developed with the participants.
The other interesting aspect about this project is the major investment made by the industrial sponsors to
support this initiative. The commitment to increasing the participation of women has come not only in dollars
to support the programs, but in collaboration that arises in various ways, including partnering for school
activities and the participation of company staff and/or administrators in some of the Chairs' events.
NSERC's contribution to the Chairs also represents an investment both in cash and in-kind. One NSERC
officer has the Chairs' program as part of her responsibilities. Christiane Villemure participates in the Chairs'
meetings when she can and is currently developing criteria for the assessment of the Chairs before the end
of the first term (at 40 months).
Introducing the Five Chairholders
Dr. Maria Klawe: NSERC/IBM Chair in WISE in British Columbia and the Yukon
The Chair is focused particularly on increasing the participation of women in information technology careers.
Prior to joining the University of British Columbia, Maria spent eight years with IBM Research in California,
and two years at the University of Toronto. She received her Ph.D. (1977) and B.Sc. (1973) in Mathematics
from the University of Alberta. She has made significant research contributions in several areas of
mathematics and computer science including functional analysis, discrete mathematics, theoretical computer
science, and interactive-multimedia for mathematics education. She is the founder and director of the
Electronic Games for Education in Math and Science (E-GEMS) project, a large-scale collaborative project
involving computer scientists, mathematics educators, teachers, children and professional game developers.
She has also served on many boards and advisory councils, including the Board of Trustees of the American
Mathematical Society (chair 1995-96), the Computing Research Association (vice-chair 93-95), and the BC
Premier's Advisory Council on Science and Technology (93-present). Maria was elected as a Fellow of the
Association of Computing Machinery in 1995, and received the Vancouver YWCA Women of Distinction
Award in Science and Technology in 1997.
Dr. Elizabeth Cannon: NSERC/Petro-Canada Chair on WISE in the Prairie Provinces
The Prairie Region Chair is responsible for the three Canadian Prairie Provinces, Alberta, Saskatchewan and
Manitoba. Dr. Elizabeth Cannon, Chairholder, is a Professor of Geomatics Engineering at the University of
Calgary and is involved in research and development related to satellite-based radio-navigation using the
Global Positioning System (GPS). She currently supervises a group of eight graduate students and is
involved in numerous industry-sponsored research projects as well as technology transfer activities. Dr.
Cannon began her five-year term as NSERC/Petro-Canada Chair for the Prairie Provinces in July of 1997.
Dr. Monique Frize, NSERC/Nortel Joint Chair in WISE in Ontario
Monique Frize began her mandate as the NSERC/Nortel Joint Chair in Women in Science and Engineering
for Ontario on July 1, 1997. The Chair is jointly held by both the University of Ottawa and Carleton
University and Monique Frize is a professor in the Systems and Computer Engineering department at
Carleton and in the School of Information Technology and Engineering at the university of Ottawa. Monique
Frize was the holder of the Northern Telecom/NSERC Chair in Women in Engineering at the University of
New Brunswick in 1989. Her research is in the area of medical informatics and biomedical instrumentation.
Monique received honourary degrees from the University of Ottawa in 1992, Ryerson Polytechnic University
in 1993, York University in 1994, and Lakehead University in 1995. She was inducted as a member of the
Canadian Academy of Engineering in 1992, and as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993. Monique won
the the Meritas-Tabaret career award from the Alumni/ae of the University of Ottawa in 1996. She is on
numerous committees and Boards including the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Chair of the
APEC Gender, Science, and Technology Working Group.
Dr. Claire Deschenes: NSERC/Alcan Chair in WISE in Quebec
Claire Deschenes is the holder of the NSERC/Alcan Chair in Women in Science and Engineering in Quebec.
Claire was the first woman hired as faculty in Engineering at Laval University in Quebec City where she
joined the Mechanical Engineering Department in 1989. She specializes in fluid mechanics applied to water
turbines. Claire has been involved in several committees concerned with women's issues and other groups
looking into the motivation and the perseverance of students. Claire has been Vice-President of the
professor's union in her institution.
Dr. Mary Williams: NSERC/Petro-Canada Chair in WISE in the Atlantic provinces and the Northwest
Territories
Dr. Mary Williams is a professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University
in St. John's. Her research is aimed at determining the forces of ice on ships and offshore structures in the
cold ocean environment. Understanding these forces is necessary for safe transportation and development
in these areas, and also for protection of the ocean environment. Before coming to Memorial, Mary worked
for the National Research Council of Canada, doing experiments and advising clients on the engineering
effects of ice. Her work has involved many field trips to the Arctic, the Antarctic, and around Newfoundland.
Activities Common to the Five Chairs
In addition to their academic role, the five chairholders are generally involved in developing and/or assessing
strategies for the recruitment and retention of women students in the non-traditional fields where job
opportunities are good. The chairholders have several speaking engagements in their region, nationally, and
even internationally on the topic of women in science and engineering.
The objectives of each of the Chairs are similar, but strategies and priorities applied to the various regions
may differ. The following goals are shared:
* develop and sustain strategies to increase the enrolment of women in undergraduate and graduate
programs, and the hiring of women faculty in fields with market demand;
* develop and sustain strategies to retain women in all these programs, and of women faculty;
* promote a climate that results in a positive experience for women;
* promote the hiring and promotion of women in industry;
* increase the participation of women in the governance of scientific and professional associations;
* carry-out the full spectrum of academic activities.
Outreach Activities
The overall objective is to increase the awareness of girls and young women on job opportunities and
well-paid interesting work in certain fields of engineering and science. Another goal is to ensure that
young women understand the importance of economic independence for the future quality and control
over their lives. The retention of women who have chosen these fields of study is the other major
component of the work of the Chairs.
Specific strategies are:
-- increase the contact between female students enroled in university or college, and females students in
elementary and secondary schools; expose the latter to several engineering and science career
opportunities which they may not have imagined; emphasis is placed on disciplines where there are
excellent job opportunities;
-- demystify the various disciplines and present aspects of these fields that make visible and positive
contributions to society;
-- profile the achievements of women engineers and scientists, describing their work, their career, their
lives, during school presentations attended by both school students and university student volunteers;
-- develop a mentoring mechanism to retain female students who are already in engineering and
science by linking them to women in the workplace, graduate students, and faculty members.
In each region, chairholders have developed specific action and research projects; examples are
described below.
Highlight of Chair Activities and Programs in Each Region
British Columbia and the Yukon
:The focus of the Chair is to increase the participation of women in information technology careers, and
she has organized her chair activities into a project known as SWIFT, which stands for Supporting
Women in InFormation Technology.
Over its first six months, SWIFT has begun work on four core initiatives which are very briefly described
below. More details on the first three can be found at http://taz.cs.ubc.ca/swift
These initiatives include the following:
1. A survey to increase our understanding of high school and university students' attitudes towards
various subject areas and information technology careers, as well as the factors they perceive as
influencing their career choices. A pilot version of the survey was been given to 210 Vancouver high
school students and 320 UBC students. Preliminary analysis of the data indicates that female students in
both high school and university show substantially less interest and have lower expectations for success
in computer science and engineering courses than male students.There was some evidence of similar
responses to physics and mathematics courses, but the gender differences were smaller. We are now
working on preparing the final version of the survey which we plan to give to a much larger sample of
students.
2. A collection of resources to provide girls with information about information technology and increase
their interest in computer-related activities. Our current projects include "day in the life" web pages
describing young women working in a various information technology jobs, reviews of computer games
aimed at girls, and a "Dear SWIFT" web page answering questions about information technology.
3. A joint university-industry pilot program known as ARC (Alternate Routes to Computing) to address the
critical need for more highly qualified personnel in information technology, especially the need for
individuals with superior communication and people skills, and additional expertise in areas outside
computer science and engineering. At least half the ARC participants will be female; hence ARC will also
help address the low participation by women in information technology careers. ARC will be a 24 to 28
month full-time program combining university computer science courses and information technology
work experience that can be taken at either UBC or at SFU. The students entering ARC will be
individuals who have completed a Bachelors degree and demonstrated outstanding academic
achievement, but have little or no current experience in programming. We expect that several of these
students will be women who completed a B.Sc. in computer science or mathematics several years ago
but left the workforce to raise children and have found it difficult to re-enter because of the enormous
changes that have occurred in technology.
4. Recruiting a new UBC computer science faculty member who will assist with the chair activities. At
this point five candidates have already been interviewed, and three more interviews are scheduled. It has
been a delight to have so many talented women computer scientists visiting our department and
interacting with students and faculty.
In addition to these four primary efforts, the SWIFTers (as those working on SWIFT projects call
themselves) have been busy with a number of other tasks as well. Maria and Grace Chen, the SWIFT
coordinator, have given presentations on computer science and mathematics at several schools. Maria
has given talks and met with faculty and students at Simon FraserUniversity and the University of
Northern British Columbia. She has also given public lectures in Victoria and Prince George, and at
several conferences and workshops. Our undergraduate coop students working for both SWIFT and the
IBM Pacific Development Center (the industrial sponsor of the chair) are keeping journals of their
experiences at IBM so that we can understand the factors encouraging and discouraging them in an
information technology workplace.
The Prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba)
-Overall goals of the Prairie Chair are to:
-Be visible and show leadership.
-Provide a focal point for diverse groups working on women's issues in science and engineering
-Interest and encourage young women to consider careers in science and engineering.
-Increase the enrollment of women in undergraduate and graduate programs in science and engineering in
the Prairie Provinces.
-Increase the retention rate of women in science and engineering careers.
The Chair has established an Advisory Council, chaired by Kathy Sendall, VP-Technology, Petro-Canada. The Council is made up of key people from industry, academia and the school system in all
three Prairie Provinces; its purpose is to guide the initiatives of the Chair and to foster relationships
throughout the Chair's region.
The activities of the Prairie Chair can be divided into three general areas, namely public
awareness, data acquisition and research, as well as program development. With respect
to public awareness, Dr. Cannon has visited universities in all three provinces, promoting
engineering and science to community groups, industry, high schools, undergraduate
students, and graduate students. Her talks have focused on bringing the issues of women
in science and engineering to the forefront in order to raise the general level of awareness
within the community.
In terms of data acquisition and research, Dr. Cannon has used the first year of her position as Chair to
establish a base of information on the participation and performance of boys and girls in science and
math programs in the school systems throughout the region. In addition, statistics on the participation of
women in science and engineering undergraduate and graduate careers have been collected and show
general consistency throughout the three Prairie provinces. These statistics have clearly shown that
women's participation in selected engineering fields (e.g. electrical and computer) as well as computer
engineering are significantly lower than for some of the other fields (e.g. biology). The statistics have
also shown that the percentage of women in PhD programs is also about half as large as in Master's
programs.
The research initiatives fall into four broad areas, namely (1) research into the influencing factors for
men and women to select engineering as a course of study, (2) the perceptions and culture for boys and
girls in High School programs including the factors affecting their course selection, (3) the culture within
the science and engineering research programs and the reasons why women are not selecting PhD
programs at the same rate as Master's programs, and (4) issues surrounding the retention of women in
engineering and science careers. The first research program has been initiated in collaboration with two
professors from the Department of Sociology at the University of Calgary and results are expected by
December, 1998.
The Prairie Chair has sponsored events for women high school students, undergraduate and graduate
students, women university faculty, and women from industry. The development of a web page, a
comprehensive bibliography on women in science and engineering-related issues and a visual model
project for undergraduate engineering education at The University of Calgary have all been undertaken
within the last year, in efforts to increase the participation of women in engineering and science.
The Ontario Chair
The first tasks accomplished in the Ottawa/Carleton area focused on expanding the outreach and the
retention activities by strengthening the existing groups of volunteers dedicated to these tasks. Specific
examples are:
1. Pathmakers: This program is run by a local committee, with representatives from each of the
universities and colleges, and from the various Boards of Education. Requests made to Pathmakers by
elementary and secondary schools in the Ottawa/Carleton area are matched with women students
enroled in science and engineering undergraduate and graduate degree programs who volunteer to
make presentations; these can take the form of experiments, demonstrations, and career information
geared to the age group concerned. In 1997/98, the program attracted over 250 volunteers, a four-fold
increase over past years. Whenever possible, the new program is includes a woman working in
engineering or science to accompany the student/s. This provides a wider breadth of experience for both
the presenting students and the school students.
2. The Ottawa-Carleton WISE Chapter (Women in Science and Engineering) has been revived. The
Chapter was part of a national organisation called WISE, created in 1977. However, in the past few
years, it had not held meetings. In November of 1997, an annual meeting and elections were held. The
new executive comprises approximately half of the previous one with new members to complete the
slate. This provides new impetus for activities and programs in the Ottawa-Carleton/Hull area. These
women can be mentors (through email and/or meetings) to Pathmakers. A student Branch of WISE was
created at the University of Ottawa and another is in an early phase of development at Carleton
University. These student Branches will be important in the future recruitment and retention activities of
the Chair and of the WISE Chapter in the Capital region. The WISE Chapter has just joined CCWEST
(Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology) and has a representative on the
CCWEST Board. CCWEST represents over 12,000 women in these fields across Canada (CCWEST
1996).
3. A very successful outreach activity: a non traditional event at Nortel. In February this year, buses
took 89 grade 10 women students from Sir Robert Borden School to Nortel. The day began with a
keynote presentation by Monique on career opportunities in science and engineering. Student volunteers
from both universities, and from Algonquin College, and women engineers, scientists, and technologists
from Nortel guided groups of 8-10 students through three different (and rotating) activities. One group
built a Pinocchio nose, while other groups visited Nortel labs, and the remaining groups played a team
game. At the end of the morning, students received a souvenir and were invited to a lunch where role
models and students mixed. The success and impact of this event was assessed through a
questionnaire. The results on the young women's future course and career choices were so positive that
this effort will be repeated several times in the coming year with both rural and urban students.
4. Monique Frize has carried-out sessions with groups of parents to express the importance of obtaining
their encouragement and support in offering wider career choices to their children. The talk also shows
how stereotypes still exist, describes results of research showing how most out-of-school science
activities still impact more positively on boys than on girls, and describes strategies to improve the
success with girls. This approach helps to close the loop between getting the message to the students,
and obtaining the support of the adults who can influence them. Emphasis is also placed on how to
increase girls' and young women's self-confidence and self-esteem with regards to their skills in
mathematics and science. Several other future presenters will be trained in the fall to share the load.
The Chair has a web site providing a wide spectrum of information on gender issues in science and
engineering. The WISEN-Ontario (Women in Science and Engineering Network) is currently being
developed through linkages with all universities in the province and other organisations such as student
leaders and the Professional Engineers Ontario association. The chairholder is also involved in several
committees at the local, national, and international level.
Research on gender issues related to these fields will mainly focus, during the first two years, on
assessing the gender impact of science and engineering outreach activities in the Capital, which will
eventually be extended to the province of Ontario.
The Quebec Chair
The general objective of the Chair is to promote the fields in science and engineering to young women
and to sensitize employers to both women's needs and to the benefits of hiring them. Three types of
activities will be undertaken to achieve these goals.
1.Direct interventions to promote scientific careers consists of meeting young women in schools,
organize visits for students at high tech industries, prepare tool kits for guidance counselors, and inform
science teachers on gender neutral pedagogy. To sensitize employers likely to hire women scientists and
engineers, the chairholder participates in the follow-up of a major survey done last year by the Advisory
Committee on Women Engineers of the Professional Engineering Organization in Quebec (OIQ). The
survey looked at differences between men's and women's careers in the Engineering profession.
2. The Chair organized a one day meeting in May 1998, on "Women, Science and Engineering" as part
of the Annual Conference of the Association Canadienne-Française pour l'avancement de la Science
(Acfas: www.acfas.ca). The aim of this symposium was to get the clearest possible current vision on the
relation of girls and women with sciences and technology at all ages of their life, as perceived by
researchers and social or educational participants in Quebec. This activity helped to set the Chair's
framework of research for the following years and to establish links and cooperation with active
researchers and participants in relevant and connected fields.
3. Communication and networking, collecting relevant information, and disseminating results across the
province of Quebec and other French- speaking areas are a main focus. This year, a bibliography on
relevant subjects was collected as well as enrolment statistics on women in the science and engineering
fields at all universities in the province. The Chair is also involved in creating a provincial Wise (Women
in Science and Engineering) Chapter, which is sorely missing in the province. This group will have its
own French web site on women, sciences and technology, where information and links will be shared,
and mentoring and other helpful services will be provided.
The Atlantic and Northwest Territories Chair
Dr. Mary Williams joined Memorial University as the Atlantic Regional Chair in September 1997. The first
year activities have been directed at an assessment of the current situation for women in science and
engineering, identification of the principle issues, and the development of a strategy for achieving the
objectives of the Chair. Although participation and interest by women is currently increasing in all areas
of science and engineering, subtle but effective barriers to career success and satisfaction persist. Thus
retention is not only an important issue, but a symptom of deeper problems. The strategy is guided by
recognition that broad public understanding of engineering, and public attitudes towards women's
participation in it are key influences. The strategy being developed in widening circles as a strategy for
Memorial, then the province and the region. It was an important topic of discussion at the CCWEST
conference in Vancouver in May. Eventually, this strategy will integrate with the strategies of the other
chairs to form the high level national strategy.
An example of the projects coming out of this activity is the Partner Positions Project. One of the
strategic actions that has been identified is to increase the number of women in Science and Engineering
faculty positions. While acknowledging fiscal constraints and a scarcity of new faculty positions, we want
to ensure when positions do become available that qualified women apply. Three main challenges to
recruiting highly qualified women to positions in Newfoundland are: perceived disadvantages of a small,
remote city; perception that the professional climate is less hospitable for women in Newfoundland than
in other provinces; the limited job prospects for a highly qualified partner. The first two challenges are
being addressed by other projects initiated by the Chair. The Partner Positions Project addresses the
third challenge. Partner Positions are job opportunities which will attract the highly qualified partner of a
recruitment target, contributing to an attractive recruitment package. The source of the Partner Positions
is the pool of current and potential positions of the participating agencies. The Project was launched with
three founding agencies: Memorial Faculty of Engineering, Memorial Faculty of Science, and NRC's
Institute for Marine Dynamics. Other agencies will be added as the recruitment processes are worked
out. The project is currently centered at Memorial, but it is a concept which can be used in other small
centres in the Atlantic Region.
There is activity of different types around the Atlantic Region. The University of New Brunswick is a
prominent feature on the 'Women in Engineering' landscape because of Dr. Frize's seven year tenure
there as National Chair. The Atlantic Chair has an Assistant Chair at University of New Brunswick, who is
also Assistant Dean of Engineering there. There are also plans for an Assistant or Associate Chair at the
University College Cape Breton in Sidney, Nova Scotia. Volunteer groups are a support and a resource
for the Chair: there are strong groups in St. John's (WISE) and in Halifax-Dartmouth (ANSWERS). Many
other locations require development. One of the particular challenges for the Atlantic Chair is outreach to
many centres and small populations.
A NATIONAL STRATEGY
Vision: To attain a critical mass of women in S,T, & E everywhere, but especially where good job
opportunities exist and women are under-represented. To increase the recognition and respect for
women's contributions, their career success, and satisfaction.
Objectives: These must reach the following constituents:
increase public awareness amongst: elementary and secondary educators, students, parents, teachers,
counsellors, school trustees); post-secondary educators; employers; researchers and research councils
(NSERC, MRC, gov. Funding); associations (prof. and technical).
The Next Steps:
The five chairholders met all the attendees of a national conference in Vancouver (May, 1998), first by
regions, then in a plenary session. The discussions focused on what the priority issues are in each of the
regions. These thoughts will be the elements of a national plan and a final plan is expected to be
completed in the fall of 1998.
Conclusion
The five Chairs in WISE is a unique project which will allow Canada to tie endeavours in all regions of
the country as well as address the national agenda. To know the impact of this project, each of these
regional Chairs will be assessed prior to termination of the first mandate (5 years) and renewal is
possible for a second 5-year term if the assessment is satisfactory. Canada has created a unique
opportunity to accelerate progress on the participation of women in the engineering profession. This
program addresses the tremendous need for human resources, especially in the Information Technology
sector, where women's participation is so low. In our efforts, we will continue to work closely with the
media to change societal perceptions of these careers. The results expected from this enhanced level
of activity and cooperation will have a profound impact of a successful outcome. The verbal presentation
will discuss key strategies and approaches, results obtained, and future goals
Approaches and perspectives in Science and in Engineering have come from a homogeneous group for far
too long. Moreover, there is currently a critical shortage of skills in several of these fields and including more
women is the most direct, practical, solution to this crisis. At this critical time, the number of women entering
engineering and science may grow steadily if some fundamental changes are made to the culture and the
education process. The profession and its leaders have a choice: Will the values, attributes, approaches,
and ideas that women bring to the field be integrated into the culture? If R&D leaders begin to see how
diversity will benefit the research community and our economies, then women will finally take their rightful
place in the ranks. We will all be richer for it.
REFERENCES
ACFAS : http://www.acfas.ca
CCWE (1992) Canadian Committee on Women in Engineering. Report: "More than Just Numbers". Available
from the Bookstore, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B., Canada E3B 5A3.
NABST (1993) Report of the National Advisory Board on Science and Technology: "Winning with Women
in Trades, Technology, Science, and Engineering." Industry Canada, 240 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Canada
K1A 0H5
NSERC (1996) Report by Task Force on Increasing the Participation of Women in Science and
Engineering research. http://www.nserc.ca
Update Report (1995) Update report of the national conference "More than Just Numbers" held in Fredericton
in May 1995. Report available on web sites of the Ontario Chair: http://www.carleton.ca/wise or
http://www.genie.uottawa.ca/wise