Canada doubles enrollments of women in engineering in a decade

摘要

Following a 1985 report on the low participation of women in science and engineering "Who Turns the Wheels", (1) there followed a decade of national strategies to redress the gender imbalance in these nontraditional fields and occupations. Theparticipation of women in engineering undergraduate programs doubled during that period. In 1989, one industrial chair on women in engineering was created, and this lead to several other national and regional efforts to remove obstacles and increaseenrolments. In 1997, Canada multiplied its efforts greatly by appointing five new chairs for women in science and engineering, to continue to develop and implement strategies in each region of Canada, coast to coast. A unique opportunity has been createdto accelerate progress on all aspects of gender issues in this profession. The results expected from this level of activity and cooperation is bound to have a profound impact and a successful outcome on the presence and recognition of women in thesedisciplines.