Information Sessions for the Canadian Armed Forces

Over the past few months, CCWESTT has been in contact with Josephine Hendricks at the Canadian Armed Forces and who is in charge of the recruitment and promotion of more women in SETT in the Forces. 

In order to provide some background information on the CAF, including the education subsidization programs, terms of service and entry plans; a series of video/virtual teleconference (VTC) information sessions are scheduled for November 2018.  The sessions should not be more than an hour, but we are flexible to go beyond to answer any queries.  Any member interested by these information sessions is welcome to attend.

Date and time of info sessions                                                

If interested please contact Josephine directly with your date of preference and one alternative date. Kindly advise by October 19, 2018.

Please contact Josephine directly if you want to know more about opportunities for women in SETT in the Forces. 

Captain Josephine Hendricks, CD1

R3 Diversity and National Events/Women’s Advisor,

Canadian Forces Recruiting Group Headquarters

Canadian Armed Forces

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / Tel: 705-424-1200 Ext 2242

R3 Diversite et Evenements Nationaux/Conseillere aupres des feminin,

Quartier général du Groupe de recrutement des Forces canadiennes

Forces armées canadiennes

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / Tel: 705-424-1200 Ext 2242

Thank you for making CCWESTT2018 such a success! 

This three-day national event, brought together subject matter experts, employers, CEOs/presidents, government representatives, and women in SETT (Science, Engineering, Trades, and Technology) at all phases of their career life-cycle to share their knowledge and experience around diversity and inclusion. Our flexible theme of “Learn. Grow. Act.” included the sharing current and emerging research and best practices, offering powerful professional development, and gaining practical solutions to the challenges faced regarding attraction, promotion, and retention of women in SETT.

A record-breaking 450 women and men attended CCWESTT 2018, with more than 50% of attendees represented women in engineering and geoscience. While male attendance has not been tracked in the past by CCWESTT, the 2018 conference saw: 10 male speakers as part of the program, 30% of student volunteers were male, 15% of Policy Forum attendees were male, and 5% of conference attendees as male.

We had 100 participants in pre-conference professional development workshops:

• Microaggressions in the SETT Workplace (WinSETT Centre)

• Implicit and Unconscious Bias in the SETT Workplace (WinSETT Centre)

• Becoming a Leader (University of Calgary, Faculty of Engineering)

• Intersectionality (EngiQueers Canada)

There were over 500 attendees at the Policy Forum where two panels were held, which included prominent members of the community, Industry and Academic leaders and Provincial and Federal elected officials.  There were six parallel streams, each day for two days, with a total of 65 individual workshops, panel discussions, Keynote presenters and panels, and/or presentations (excluding Youth Program) covering all disciplines of SETT. Over 20 different companies and organizations presented during the conference including Stantec, Enbridge, BioWare, Women Building Futures, APEGA, the City of Edmonton, and Engineers Canada. Topics covered included mentorship and early education, leadership, the immigrant experience, entrepreneurship, non-linear career paths, NSERC Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering updates,  learnings from the 2017 Gender Summit, recruitment, and retention, and much more! Our closing banquet panel “Elevating the Leadership of Tomorrow”, which featured Kim Campbell.

An entire stream on Day 3 of the conference was dedicated to Indigenous Inclusivity. Speakers included prominent business and community leaders, Indigenous Elders and advocates. The sessions connected companies and individuals who actively support diversity and inclusion for Indigenous Peoples, shaping opportunities and industries, and

enabling reconciliation. The questions raised and answered: "How can we learn from and leverage their successes” and “How can we all flourish as a result”?

We also hosted a youth program. Our Indigenous Youth Engagement stream was held on Day 2 of the conference sessions to provide opportunities for urban Indigenous Youth to engage with relatable mentors, see the change that they can become to their communities and world, imagine themselves being this change, and connect

with resources to enable their pathways. Fifty-three Indigenous Youth from the Edmonton area attended, both boys and girls.  Supplemental programming instilled pride in Indigenous Culture with Hoop Dancers and accomplished Elders and Indigenous Mentors.  The Youth Program was held on Day 3 in partnership with DiscoverE from the University of Alberta, which included ~50 boys and girls from grades 1 through 9. From the Youth Essay competition for Grades 10-12 girls, four high school girls were selected to attend Day 3 of the conference. Lastly, 75 University of Alberta Engineering and Science student volunteers had their attendance at the conference sponsored.

As a summary of the CCWESTT2018 conference, we have generated the Policy Forum Report https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PRE3-zKQRtOiFHf33qjKKzwmDSVwZR8h/view?usp=sharing and Proceedings https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E0SmgMSfIlP0AKPidP6aE5iwBmHSNQtB/view?usp=sharing. 

Thank you, again, for supporting diversity and inclusion in SETT. Please contact Neemee Batstone, Chair of CCWESTT (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), if you'd like more information about the CCWESTT2020 Conference.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Best,

Lianne Lefsrud and Anjum Mullick,

Co-Chairs CCWESTT2018.

Made-in-Canada Athena SWAN Consultation

Informational briefings on a "made in Canada" approach to an Athena SWAN initiative are being held through to September. The briefings will cover the basic objectives and logistics of the model, implementation process, and answer questions from participants. To learn more and sign up, see below, or refer to the information briefings page.

NSERC will be hosting workshops on the creation of an Athena SWAN - type award initiative in Canada in various cities across the country from September 24 to October 4, 2018. Details on locations and dates are:

British Columbia: Vancouver, Monday, September 24, 2018, at University of British Columbia

Alberta: Calgary, Tuesday, September 25, 2018, at the University of Calgary

Manitoba: Winnipeg, Thursday, September 27, 2018, at the University of Manitoba

Quebec: Montreal, Monday, October 1, 2018, at Université du Québec à Montréal

Atlantic: Halifax, Wednesday, October 3, 2018, at Dalhousie University

Ontario: Toronto, Thursday, October 4, 2018, at York University

Register at your earliest convenience but before Friday, September 21, 2018. Meetings are scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

International Women in Engineering Day is June 23, 2018

International Women in Engineering Day is an international awareness campaign to raise the profile of women in engineering and focuses attention on the amazing career opportunities available to girls in this exciting industry. It celebrates the outstanding achievements of women engineers throughout the world. Once again in 2018, we are under UNESCO patronage.  

Taking place annually on 23 June, it's your day, so get involved! In 2018, the INWED 2018 theme of 'Raising The Bar'. @INWED1919 #INWED18 #RaisingTheBar

For more information, visit: http://www.inwed.org.uk/