National Women in Engineering Conference

On November 16, 2014, Grant Imahara, former Mythbuster, closed out the last ever National Conference on Women in Engineering (NCWiE). The three day conference, held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was centred around the witty theme of ‘Leveling the Playing Field;” equality for all, no matter your race, creed, religion, sex, gender, the list goes on. I would like to extend my thanks for Jessica Geddert, the NCWiE 2014 Chair, the University of Saskatchewan and the entire organizing committee for hosting a great conference.

After settling into their rooms at the Sheraton in downtown Saskatoon, the delegates convened for dinner with members of the University of Saskatoon as well as industry professionals. Over dinner, other delegates and I talked about a variety of things from proper dinner etiquette, which none of us followed, to what ice cream flavour best represents us, coconut and red-bean with chocolate sauce for me. After the humourous ice breakers, the conversation transitioned into topics on equal opportunity and equal outcome, strategies woman around the table have used to excel in traditionally male dominated fields and, most significant for me, what men can do to assist women in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. The solution boiled down to a simple sentence: treat everyone as equals.

While the solution seems simple, achieving this goal is far from simple. Many of the issues are ingrained in our society, I see my very own nieces and nephews being raised to believe that there exists such a thing as a “toy for girls” and a “toy for boys.” I heard stories of young female children being told that playing sports isn’t something a respectable young lady does. At the same time, I heard stories of young men being told that dance and dolls will turn you gay and crying is a sign of weakness. If there is one thing I took back from NCWiE, it was the fact that I have the power to be a part of the positive change in this world, but, at the same time, change is neither fast nor does it come from one person alone.

Our generation, like the generations before us, can mould the world before us into whatever we want. We do not have to fit into the box that society has made for us, but, where do we start?

We can all start by creating a positive space for everyone to thrive. Ceasing to judge people based on their sexuality, how they dress and the music they like. Accepting other’s views and respecting their decisions. We need to stop associating things as girly or manly and realize that all genders can exhibit any personality trait. Nothing is inherently ‘girly’ or ‘manly,’ calling someone weak should not be the same as calling someone girly, just like calling someone a jerk shouldn’t be synonymous with calling them a dick. Language has an incredible impact on how we communicate, how we think and how we act. By changing the way we speak to others and ourselves will change how we perceive this world. The way we speak and the way we think are important building blocks to equality, but we must also act if we are truly committed to change.

We must make a society that creates equal opportunity for everyone. Level the playing field for both visible and invisible minorities. Provide the same resources to everyone, regardless of their social status or income. Both men and women need to be encouraged to pursue any career, from seamstress to scientist. It should be merit, hard work, and dedication that land us a job, not the colour of our skin, our cultural background or the bits between our legs.

Twenty Five years ago, the tragedy at École Polytechnique brought the engineering community together, kick starting the first National Conference on Women in Engineering, which has since run for the last 24 years. Now 2014 brings upon us an important change, a chance to look at all the issues affecting equality among engineering students, not just gender. One focused on diversity from all walks of life. Waterloo will be hosting the first annual Conference on Diversity in Engineering (CDE) in 2015, a conference that will no doubt host the visionaries of our future.

It is time to level the playing field. I am willing to do my part, what about you?