July 2010

Women in Engineering Leadership:
Message from Engineers Canada CEO Chantal Guay, Ing.

L. to R.: Maud Cohen, ing. (OIQ); Kim Farwell, P.Eng., (APEGGA); Margaret Li, FEC, P.Eng. (APEGBC Board member); Chantal Guay, ing., P.Eng., M.Env.; Diane Freeman, FEC, P.Eng., (PEO); Shawna Argue, FEC, P.Eng. (APEGS); Catherine Karakatsanis, FEC, P.Eng. (PEO Board member)

I was privileged to witness a special moment during our Annual General Meeting, held in Vancouver in May, when the newest female leaders of our Constituent Associations [CA] and members of our Board of Directors gathered for a photo.

Kim Farwell, P.Eng. (APEGGA), Shauna Argue, FEC, P.Eng., (APEGS), Diane Freeman, FEC, P.Eng. (PEO), and Maud Cohen, ing. (OIQ) are all presidents of their associations for 2010.

Now more than 90% of the profession’s membership is represented by female leadership.

We also increased representation of women on our Board of Directors when we welcomed Catherine Karakatsanis, FEC, P.Eng., past-president of PEO, and Margaret Li, FEC, P.Eng., past-president of APEGBC. These ladies will join Louise Quesnel, FIC, ing., who has represented OIQ on our Board since 2008.

These women are strong role models for current and future generations of engineers. However, there is still more to be done to ensure a vibrant and diverse engineering profession.

Nearly 50% of Canada’s entire work force is made up of women. However, according to the 2009 Engineers Canada membership survey, women comprised only 10% of all professional engineers in Canada, up slightly from 9.5% in 2008.

The good news is that there is now a higher proportion of women among engineers-in-training in every province and territory. Changes to the gender gap in the profession are adjusting, slightly, but we need to ensure those numbers continue to rise and that there is a plentiful pool of female engineering graduates.

This is especially true when you consider that total female enrolment in undergraduate engineering programs has declined since the early part of the decade, to 17.4% in 2009. This number demonstrates that we must work on encouraging and promoting engineering as a viable career path to young women.

Research has shown that the tipping point – the point at which different ways of thinking or doing something becomes commonplace – is 30%.

I believe we need to make our goals to be to bring the number of female professional engineers up to 30%, and to show them that engineering can be a lifelong career choice.

To accomplish this, our Women in Engineering Task Force has been examining the numbers of women in engineering in an effort to determine how to get more women involved and keep them in the profession.

Based on Task Force recommendations, some of the strategies that Engineers Canada and its CAs are employing to attract and retain women in engineering include:

·         raising the profile and improving the image of the profession to help young women understand what it means to be an engineer;

·         promoting and facilitating the availability of existing training programs that may benefit or be of interest to female engineers;

·         promoting mentorship programs, which are very  important in attracting and retaining women in engineering; and,

·         working with industry on methods to help improve the retention of female engineers in the workforce.

In the end, this is a diversity issue, not only a gender issue. The objective is to have the engineering workforce reflective of Canadian society. This includes the proportion of women, as well as visible minorities and Indigenous people.

In order to actively engage the best minds in the profession, we need to ensure a strong core of potentially different views and ways of thinking, which a diverse workforce can offer. 

I strongly believe that increased diversity will further enhance the profile of our profession and benefit society at large.

Chantal Guay, ing., P.Eng., M.Env.
Chief Executive Officer
Engineers Canada

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