Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Canadian Committee on Women in EngineeringGST 108162025
INTRODUCTION
The
Canadian Committee on Women in Engineering began its work from a simple premise:
there is no physical or intellectual barrier to women entering the engineering
profession. Yet, women represented just under four percent of registered
professional engineers in Canada in 1991. Our mandate, therefore, was to uncover
the social and cultural barriers responsible for the under-representation of
women in engineering and to design bridges that will bring them as full
participants into the profession.
The rationale behind the formation of the Committee in February 1990 was
reinforced by the predicted shortage of engineers in Canada by the year 2000.
The shortage is attributed to engineering's decreasing share of total enrollment
in university programs, the dwindling number of engineers immigrating from other
countries, and economic growth.
One catalytic event gave our investigation great impetus--the murder of 13
female engineering students at école Polytechnique in Montreal on December
6,1989. That single event in Canadian history jolted engineers and non-engineers
alike into deep contemplation and open discussion about the very issues we were
to deal with--namely, the status of women in the profession.
More women are becoming engineers; in the last decade, the percentage of
registered professional engineers in Canada who are women increased from less
than one percent to almost four percent. However, the enrollments of women in
university engineering programs compared with other male-dominated fields of
study show that engineering is lagging far behind. Law and medicine have been
attracting almost equal numbers of men and women students for several years.
The recommendations in More than just numbers go beyond attracting
greater numbers of women into the engineering profession. Canadians must ensure
that the learning and working environments welcome, support and appreciate women
engineering students and engineers.
In formulating its recommendations, the Committee relied heavily on the personal
testimony of women already in the profession. Accounts of experiences as a
minority in high school mathematics and physics classes, in faculties of
engineering, in the workplace and as members of professional associations
brought the real issues to life. The experiences of these women were validated
by the testimony of educators and employers of engineers as well as by our own
research and the research of others.
THE ISSUES THE KEYS TO SUCCESS 5.that teachers and guidance counselors provide
career information and guidance free of gender-bias about engineering and
related fields to all students, so that women with interests in and aptitudes
for engineering are informed, encouraged and supported. 25.that associations of professional
engineers design and launch a public awareness campaign to promote
engineering especially as a career for women, across Canada. The goal of the CCWE has been to encourage
men and women, especially in the engineering profession, to change attitudes
and practices that discourage women from pursuing careers for which they are
eminently suited. Achieving this goal is not a simple matter, nor is it the
responsibility of only one organization or group of individuals. Now that
the CCWE has disbanded, it is up to all the organizations listed above to do
take up the challenge.
The cultural influences
that channel girls and young women away from non-traditional roles start with
parents and other caregivers in the preschool years. Once in school, many girls
and young women continue to be discouraged from pursuing interests in
mathematics and science and from considering careers in engineering by teachers
and guidance counselors who are not sensitive to gender stereotyping. Because
there are so few female science and mathematics teachers and even fewer women
engineers to act as role models, young women are not likely to meet and interact
with them. These influences are compounded by the perception that engineering is
a "male" profession, that high grades are needed to succeed in
engineering studies, and that engineers only build bridges and roads.
Some young women who choose to study engineering have difficulty adjusting to
the pervasive male culture of faculties of engineering and to a curriculum that
does not reflect women's perspectives. Many never meet a woman engineer or
engineering professor. Women who advance to graduate studies and aspire to
academic careers are very few indeed. Many universities have yet to adopt
flexible tenure procedures and other supportive policies that recognize the
difficulties of balancing family responsibilities with the demands of an
academic career.
Once in the workplace, women engineers encounter attitudes and activities that
are systemically biased against women. Many face discrimination in hiring,
promotion, job assignments and salary, and experience sexual harassment in their
workplaces. Many have to cope with the isolation of being the only female
engineer in a company or on a job site. As well, not enough employers have
policies that enable employees to balance family and career responsibilities.
Women engineers are also minorities in their professional associations. These
associations have a key role to play in providing support to women members,
creating greater public awareness of the engineering profession, and attracting
more women to the profession.
The CCWE has made many recommendations in this report; most focus on changing
attitudes and creating women-friendly environments. Six factors are crucial to
their successful implementation.
1.Commitment from the top. Change in attitudes and the environment will
not happen without commitment from senior management in the elementary and
secondary school system, universities and workplaces. They will need to commit,
in principle and practice, to attracting women to the profession and creating
women-friendly environments.
2.Gender sensitivity and awareness. Real social change will not occur
unless everyone understands and accepts that women deserve equal status as
people and as engineers. This acceptance is especially important in faculties of
engineering where some male students and professors still discriminate covertly
against women students, and in the workplace where many women engineers do not
have the respect of staff, co-workers and supervisors. Changing attitudes will
take time, but will be accelerated by education and awareness programs that
reinforce gender sensitivity.
3.Women involved in the process of change. In the elementary and
secondary school system, more women must become mathematics and science teachers
and be appointed as school administrators. In universities, more women must be
seen in the ranks of senior management and as professors in faculties of
engineering. In the workplace, more women must be named to boards of directors
and promoted to senior management. In associations of professional engineers,
women must sit on councils and committees at the national, provincial and
territorial levels.
4. Co-operation from educators, employers and engineers. Co-operation is
required from all those involved in the making of an engineer: parents, other
caregivers, teachers and guidance counselors; engineering deans, faculty and
students; employers of engineers; and associations of professional engineers. By
working together to change the image of engineering and to improve the learning
and working environments of engineers, women will be convinced that the
engineering profession offers a challenging and rewarding career.
5. Realistic and challenging goals. Organizations must set realistic and
challenging goals for the attracting, retaining and advancing the careers of
women engineers. To illustrate, the CCWE has set schedules for success as
guidelines for implementing the recommendations. Individual organizations will
need to set their own pace for change based on their own situations.
6.Mechanisms to measure and report on progress. Organizations that
represent the key stakeholders in the elementary and secondary school system,
universities, workplaces and associations of professional engineers must be made
responsible for monitoring the implementation of the CCWE's recommendations and
strategies. Such monitoring must include regular and public reports on progress.
Although this report is entitled More Than just Numbers, we do
refer to statistics and set numerical goals for measuring success. Numerical
goals and time frames can be used to measure the success of our recommendations
and identify future directions. Our recommendations aim to achieve the following
in the next five years, by 1997:
Girls and boys will pursue mathematics and science in equal numbers, especially
at advanced levels throughout high school; Women will comprise 25-35 percent of
first year students, 20 percent of master's students, 10 percent of doctoral
students, and five percent of the professorate in faculties of engineering
across Canada; Women will comprise at least 18 percent of graduates from
undergraduate engineering programs. More women engineers will be in senior
management positions and on boards of directors of companies employing
engineers; and More women engineers will be elected members of council and
appointed members of committees of associations of professional engineers.
We propose this five-year timetable in part because there is a unique
"window of opportunity" open to society. In this decade, large numbers
of elementary and secondary school teachers and university professors hired to
teach the "baby boomers" will be retiring. This turnover will open the
teaching profession to new members who will receive their academic training in
the next few years. The training, attitudes and gender of these teachers and
faculty members will have a profound impact on the career choices of girls and
young women for decades to come.
If these targets are met, the greatest rewards will go to society in general.
For too long, the engineering profession has been deprived of the input and
abilities of more than half the population. Attitudes that discourage women from
considering the engineering profession deprive Canada of distinctive feminine
perspectives on technological issues, and a considerable pool of expertise.
RECOMMENDATIONS
LAYING THE FOUNDATION
The CCWE recommends
1.that the active role of women in engineering be portrayed so that parents and
the public will encourage young women to pursue careers in engineering.
2.that educators empower young women tofully develop self-esteem through
significant and appropriate learning experiences in elementary and secondary
school.
3. that faculties of education include the study of equity issues, gender
stereotyping and gender differences in teacher education programs so that all
students have equal opportunities for learning participating and contributing in
the classroom.
Schedule for success:
Courses in equity and gender-related issues for all education students by 1995.
4.that educators enhance the mathematics, science and technical learning
experiences of women students in elementary and secondary schools so that they
develop interests and abilities in these subjects and acquire the academic
prerequisites for engineering studies.
Schedule for success:
Development of mechanisms to monitor the participation and success of young
women in secondary school mathematics and science courses by 1993. Review of
qualifications and standards of science and mathematics teachers by 1994.
Applied science topics and experiences of women incorporated in mathematics and
science curricula by 1995. Enhanced science and mathematics courses in all
teacher education programs by 1995. Increased science, mathematics and technical
education courses required for secondary school graduation by 1995.
Schedule for success:
EDUCATION BY AND
FOR ENGINEERS
6.that educators introduce girls and young women to role models in the
fields of mathematics, science, technology and engineering so that they
realize women have career options in non-traditional professions.
Schedule for success:
7.that educators and employers develop extracurricular programs to ensure
that girls and women develop self-confidence and competence in mathematics,
science, technology and engineering in a non-competitive environment.
Schedule for success:
The CCWE recommends
8.that universities create attractive environments for women and commit--in
principle and practice--to the recruitment and retention of women faculty and
students, especially in faculties of engineering.
Schedule for success:
9.that faculties and schools of engineering develop programs to attract
women into undergraduate engineering programs to increase the pool of
well-qualified, talented engineers.
Schedule for success:
10.that faculties of engineering encourage mature and other
non-traditional students to enter engineering programs.
Schedule for success:
11.that faculties of engineering establish academic adjustment and social
support programs for undergraduate students and especially for women
students.
Schedule for success:
12.that faculties of engineering create an environment that ensures the
physical, emotional and psychological security of all students, and
contributes to a more positive image of engineering students.
Schedule for success:
13. that faculties of engineering accelerate efforts to attract women
students to graduate studies and to ensure they continue to graduation so
that the pool of candidates for faculty positions and senior positions in
industry is increased.
Schedule for success:
14. that faculties of engineering develop an action plan to increase the
number of women faculty in engineering so that a more genderbalanced
engineering faculty is created and all engineering students have women role
models.
Schedule for success:
15. that universities design tenure and promotion criteria and processes
to allow for family responsibilities so that maternity, paternity and
parental leaves do not jeopardize career progression or achievement of
tenure and promotion.
Schedule for success:
16.that the engineering curriculum be made relevant to current societal
realities and future needs so that engineering students are conscious of the
effects of engineering decisions and designs, and develop an understanding
of and appreciation for the humanities and social sciences.
Schedule for success:
17.that faculties of engineering develop and expand work-experience
programs and encourage women students to participate so that they are able
to validate their career choice and relate engineering studies to the
workplace.
Schedule for success:
The CCWE recommends
18.that all employers of engineers develop and implement corporate strategies
and policies that demonstrate commitment to the hiring, promotion and career
development of women professionals, especially engineers.
Schedule for success:
19.that employers of engineers develop recruitment practices to attract
women engineers, and ensure the hiring of the best-qualified and most
productive employees by creating a selection process that is fair, objective
and free of gender bias.
Schedule for success:
20.that employers of engineers institute career development and promotion
strategies to prepare women engineers for management, and to ensure the
promotion of the best-qualified and most productive employees.
Schedule for success:
21.that employers of engineers adopt policies that support the
professional, personal and family needs of all employees and ensure
employees are able to balance family responsibilities with professional
responsibilities and career development.
Schedule for success:
22.that employers of engineers initiate, update, promote and enforce
policies to eradicate harassment in the workplace.
Schedule for success:
The CCWE recommends
23.that associations of professional engineers develop and institute
programs for all members and engineers-in-training to ensure full acceptance
of women engineers in the profession, and to eradicate harassment and
discrimination against women members.
Schedule for success:
24.that associations of professional engineers improve the information
base on equity and human resource distribution, particularly as it pertains
to women engineers, by expanding regular member surveys.
Schedule for success:
26.that associations of professional engineers establish or expand
comprehensive attraction programs at elementary and secondary schools in
co-operation with other organizations concerned with encouraging women to
study engineering.
Schedule for success:
Schedule for success:
28.that associations of professional engineers develop close working
relationships with faculties of engineering to ensure engineering students
are aware of the associations' expectations regarding fairness and equity.
Schedule for success:
29.that associations of professional engineers make employers aware of
the different perspectives and qualities women bring to engineering work.
To sustain the momentum for change created by the CCWE's work, action will be
required on many fronts. Such action must include monitoring, measuring and
reporting on progress in the implementation of the CCWE's recommendations, as
well as an ongoing media campaign to keep the issues before the public. It
will be necessary to maintain the monitoring, reporting and communications
functions at least until the end of the decade.
Periodic independent reporting about overall progress will provide momentum,
identify remaining roadblocks and highlight successful endeavours. As was
suggested at the CCWE's national conference in May 1991, progress should be
assessed at a stock-taking conference. Such a conference should be held no
later than 1995.
To support this work and offset the isolation felt by many women engineers,
existing regional communication networks and the networks inspired by the CCWE
forums and national conference should be financially and morally supported by
provincial and territorial professional engineering associations and linked
into a national network.
The organizations listed below should be responsible for implementing the
CCWE's recommendations. The lead organizations should co-operate to collect
and analyze the data and qualitative information needed to measure progress
against the CCWE's goals, publish this information in summary form in their
annual reports, and discuss it at least once a year at the board of directors
level. Organizations in supporting roles should provide advice, information,
support and forums for discussion.
THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL SYSTEM
Lead responsibility:
Supporting role:
THE UNIVERSITIES
Lead responsibility:
Supporting role:
THE WORKPLACE
Lead responsibility:
Supporting role:
THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION
Lead responsibility:
Supporting role:
The Canadian Committee on Women in Engineering was formed in February
1990 under an Industrial Adjustment Agreement of Employment and Immigration
Canada. Its formation was initiated by Industry Science and Technology
Canada. The main signatories to the agreement are the Canadian Council of
Professional Engineers, the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada,
the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and the Canadian
Manufacturers' Association.
CCWE ACTIVITIES
The Committee undertook to identify barriers and bridges to the
participation of women in engineering by holding six regional public forums.
The Ottawa Public Forum was held in Ottawa on September 12, 1990; the West
Coast Forum on November 16,1990; the Montreal Forum in Montreal on January
29,1991; the Prairie Region Forum in Regina on February 26, 1991; the
Ontario Public Forum in Toronto on March 6,1991; and the Atlantic Region
Forum in Halifax on March 26,1991. Over 160 briefs were presented by
elementary and secondary school educators, engineering deans and professors,
representatives of associations of professional engineers and employers of
engineers, as well as male and female engineering students and engineers.
The CCWE received over 40 private submissions from women who shared their
experiences as engineering students and engineers.
To determine effective practices to recruit, retain and advance the careers
of women engineers, the Committee commissioned a study of seven faculties of
engineering and six workplaces. The purpose of the research was to determine
what practices have greater success recruiting and graduating female
engineering students in universities, and which policies and practices are
effective in recruiting and advancing the careers of female engineers. The
findings were consistent with the statements made by the participants in the
public forums.
In May 1991, the CCWE held a national conference in Fredericton. Over 240
Canadians, one-third of them men, participated in the conference. In
workshop sessions, the participants evaluated and expanded our initial
recommendations.
The Committee also sought input from 20 key stakeholders at a one-day
meeting in Ottawa in September, 1991. They represented elementary and
secondary school educators, universities, employers and professional
associations. The participants helped identify reasonable objectives and
time frames and suggested ways to monitor implementation.
CCWE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Chair
Monique Frize, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Northern Telecom-NSERC Women in Engineering Chair,
University of New Brunswick,
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Donald Laplante, P Eng.,
Executive Director,'
Canadian Council of Professional Engineers
Ottawa, Ontario
Ken Williams, P. Eng.,
Past President
Canadian Council of Professional Engineers
President, Industrial Engines Ltd.
Vancouver, British Columbia
Catherine Ella, P.Eng.,
Former assistant director, professional affairs,
Canadian Council of Professional Engineers
Assistant Technical Engineer, Ontario Hydro,
Port Elgin, Ontario
Pierre Franche, P. Eng.,
President and Chief Operating Officer,
Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Eva Kushner, PhD
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
President and Vice-Chancellor,
Victoria University,
Toronto, Ontario
Richard A. Gordon, P.Eng.
Canadian Manufacturers' Association.
Director of Engineering, Dofasco Inc.,
Hamilton, Ontario
Pamela Smith,
President, 1989-90
Canadian Association of University Teachers
Director, Sample Survey and Databank Unit,
University of Regina,
Regina, Saskatchewan
Terry Peach,
Manager-Organization and Staffing,
GE Canada
Mississauga, Ontario
Paul Vivian,
Former Vice-President (Human Resources),
The SNC Group Inc.
Montreal, Quebec
Valerie Davidson, PhD, P.Eng.
Women in Science and Engineering
Associate Professor, School of Engineering,
University of Guelph,
Guelph, Ontario
Naomi Hersom, PhD,
Past President
Canadian Education Association
Visiting Scholar, Faculty of Education,
University of Ottawa,
Ottawa, Ontario
Linda Inkpen, MD
Association of Community Colleges of Canada
President, Cabot Institute of Applied Arts and Technology,
St. John's, Newfoundland
Gary Heinke, PhD, P.Eng.
National Committee of Deans of Engineering and Applied Science
Dean, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering,
University of Toronto,
Toronto, Ontario
Janis Peleshok,
Past Vice-President External
Canadian Federation of Engineering Students
Engineering Student, University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Danielle Plouffe,
Senior Industrial Consultant,
Employment and Immigration Canada
Hull, Quebec
Nora M.C. Hockin,
Director, University Research Policy,
Industry, Science and Technology Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
STAFF
Jeanne Inch,
CCWE Co-ordinator
University of New Brunswick
Fredericton, New Brunswick
SPONSORS
The major sponsors of work of the Committee were the Canadian Council
of Professional Engineers, the Association of Consulting Engineers of
Canada, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the Canadian
Manufacturers' Association, Employment and Immigration Canada, and Industry
Science and Technology Canada. Support was also received from Noranda Inc.,
The SNC Group, GE Canada, Dofasco Inc. and The University of New Brunswick.