A sampling of organizations that support equity for women in STEM fields (quoted here from University Affairs 2013, October issue):
• The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council offers its postgraduate and faculty grant recipients a host of accommodations and funding for family and work-life balance. Its Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering program gives research grants to highly qualified women in scientific fields, with matching funds from industry. Past chair holders include Elizabeth Cannon, president of the University of Calgary, and Maria Klawe when she was at UBC; she later became Princeton’s first female dean of engineering and is now president of Harvey Mudd College in California.
• Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology provides inspiration for girls and career support for women in the sciences; it now includes a branch for immigrating women in science and technology.
• Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) is a pan-Canadian co-ed student organization with branches at many Canadian universities, some of them in existence for about 25 years. WISE arose as a forum for peers to share their experiences.
• Future Ingenieure offers workshops and support for young women in Quebec who aspire to becoming an engineer.
• Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology is a national organization promoting women in STEM fields and celebrating their accomplishments.
• Many scholars point to ADVANCE, a program of the U.S. National Science Foundation (with funding to date of $130 million US) to support programs that increase the representation of women in science and engineering careers. Its present goal for postsecondary institutions is “institutional transformation.”
Potentially interesting documents and sites:
• The Montreal Council of Women
Founded in 1893, the Montreal Council of Women is a non-partisan, non-confessional federation that brings together 60 voluntary organizations and more than 100 individual members from Montreal and the surrounding region. The combined membership of about 50,000 women and men supports our aim to work to improve social conditions, especially as they affect women and children.
• The Quebec Council on the Status of Women
Founded in 1973, the Conseil du statut de la femme (Council on the Status of Women) advises the Quebec government on all issues regarding the status of women, and seeks to keep women and the general public informed on matters within its purview. The head office of the council is in Quebec City and members are appointed by the Quebec government every four to five years.