This International Women’s Day we want to celebrate some of our past and present female researchers making incredible contributions in the field of engineering, energy research and climate change. Here at EERL we are immensely proud of these current and future leaders of industry, academia and public sector, and inspired by all their achievements:
Alexis Tanner (Ph.D., present), Ellen McCole (M.A.Sc., present), Parvin Mehr (M.A.Sc., 2020), Holly Dole (Postdoctoral Fellow, 2018), Carol Brereton (Ph.D., 2018), Melina Jefferson (M.A.Sc., 2017), Yuan Liu (Ph.D. 2010), Chen Yang (M.A.Sc. 2008), Stephanie Trottier (M.A.Sc. 2005).
It is a well-known fact that despite comprising over half of the Canadian population women are systemically and systematically under-represented in STEM. Too often, women do not tend to choose engineering as a potential academic or career path due to various barriers such as gender stereotypes, low female student enrollment in STEM disciplines, historical engineering culture, lack of female role models, and more. To break these barriers, EERL is committed to attracting talent and encouraging women from all backgrounds to join our Lab and the Faculty of Engineering and Design.
In 2017 EERL launched our very first Women in Engineering Research Scholarship (WERS) under the FlareNet project. Parvin Mehr was the first student to receive the award and conducted research on experimental modelling of black carbon emissions as part of her Master’s degree. We carry on the tradition and encourage female students from various backgrounds to apply for the WERS. Interested in further opportunities within EERL? Learn more here.
As part of a wider Faculty of Engineering and Design (FED), we share its bold vision to promote women in STEM, particularly through its Women in Engineering & IT Program. WiE&IT Program supports women students and alumnae through:
- networking events like Industry Talks and Career Fair to help build professional networks;
- mentorship circles called ‘Candid Conversations‘ to learn from the leading engineering/IT professionals;
- UpSkill Video Series that help develop your soft skills and gain a competitive edge for future opportunities;
- company tours to provide a glimpse of the future work environments within potential employers.
As part of the FED we are excited to see a growing engagement of women in STEM:
- female enrollment in the engineering and IT programs increased by 94% over the past ten years;
- 22.3% of current engineering and IT students at Carleton are women;
- 23 new female faculty members have joined since 2020.
We look forward to seeing the existing gender gap narrow and further progress achieved in the engineering field in the years to come.
Happy International Women’s Day!