Women in Science and Technology: 8 Initiatives That Encourage Diversity in These Fields

Women in science and technology are unfortunately still rare in 2021. That's why we present eight initiatives that encourage women to enter the STEM field.

The STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field has historically been, and continues to be, dominated by men. Despite some progress in terms of parity, we are still far from it. In fact, in Quebec, only 18% of IT professionals were women in 2018, according to TechnoCompétences .

While we can imagine that this percentage has increased today, we are still far from parity. Moreover, Ms. Bilodeau, the director of Scientifines, told us about the surprisingly low growth in the number of women in these fields, despite efforts in recent years.

To mark International Women's Day, March 8, 2021, we're highlighting several initiatives aimed at getting girls and women involved in science and technology, and encouraging them to choose careers in STEM fields.

IN QUEBEC

Scientists

Scientifines is the brainchild of four founders, each from diverse backgrounds, including social work and psychology. Together, they began working with young teenage girls in high school. They realized that it was necessary to intervene even earlier in their school careers to truly instill a love of science in them.
Thus, in 1993, Scientifines was born in the form we know it today: a non-profit organization.

What drove the founders to create Les Scientifines? The desire to see women from all walks of life take power in the scientific and technological fields. To see more women in science and technology. The organization's goal is to enable young girls to develop transversal skills through science.
Why science? Because these are very tangible and concrete subjects, easy to approach. Indeed, science is about conducting experiments, using your hands, and concretely understanding how what you're studying works.

The Scientifines also exist to enable students from disadvantaged backgrounds to access scientific fields. These students often have few, if any, role models or family members working in these fields. The Scientifines aim to help combat poverty, particularly by giving these young women the opportunity to develop skills and a passion for science and technology. This offers them a potential gateway to a more favorable environment through their choice of higher education.

Since its inception, the organization has evolved considerably. It offers activities with richer content and provides opportunities to participate in science fairs. These allow students to harness their creativity for a project that they manage from design to presentation. These projects boost the young girls' self-confidence. They also make teachers very proud to see their students progress and develop critical thinking skills.

Finally, the Scientifines also want to keep in touch with the girls who previously participated in their activities. They recently reconnected with participants from the early 2000s. They are now between 18 and 25 years old, and here's what they learned:

• 95% of them have a high school diploma or higher
• 78% are still in school, of which 23% are STEM-related
• 17% have (already!) a university degree
• But above all, 88% said that the Scientifines had an impact on their academic perseverance

So while the Scientifines don't claim that all participants will choose to work in science and technology, they do aim to have a positive impact on the lives of these young women, enabling them to develop skills that apply in everyday life, regardless of their field of study. The key word: EMPOWERMENT.

Girl Knows Tech

Girl Knows Tech is a blog run by Marie-Philippe Gill, a master's student in machine learning at ÉTS in Montreal. Her journey in the tech world began in 2012, after a turning point led her to decide not to let her fears control her. Her fears? Not being good enough to work in the industry and evolving in a predominantly male environment.

Since then, she has obtained a DEC in computer technology and a diploma in software engineering from ÉTS.

This is how her passion for technology has continued to grow. In 2015, she launched a blog that allows her to combine her two passions: writing and technology.

We were able to talk with Marie and she shared with us an experience that marked her journey:

The computer science course she took in high school. This course, led by a teacher who listened to Marie, helped her find her way. This teacher gave stimulating lessons and always offered interesting projects. Marie remembers, for example, a video game creation project!

But what really stood out for her was the opportunity this teacher gave her to learn JavaScript. While the other students were working on a project she didn't like, Marie learned to code with JavaScript on her own! This allowed her to gain confidence in herself and her abilities. And it was this confidence that led her to enroll in a computer science program at CEGEP.

Finally, on her blog, Marie talks about her experience as a student in the technology field. From tips for succeeding in your studies and managing your blog, to sharing personal experiences and interviews with women in science and technology, Marie's blog is a goldmine for young women entering STEM fields.

Very active on social media , she listens to her community which is growing day by day! A very beautiful Quebec inspiration for young girls who are still asking questions about their career path.

Girls and Science

Les Filles et Les Sciences is, above all, an event that takes place in four Quebec cities: Montreal, Quebec City, Rimouski, and Sherbrooke. The goal is to introduce young girls in Secondary 2, 3, and 4 to the careers and studies that will lead these women into science and technology.
The organization allows young girls to meet professionals and stakeholders from major Quebec companies and universities to guide them in their career choices.

This year, the event had to completely reinvent itself. Les Scientifines organized a virtual chain reaction competition. Participants must create a chain reaction, film themselves, and share the video. The prize? University scholarships, science camp spots, and Coup de Coeur awards. Enough to motivate budding young scientists!
The competition ends this Wednesday, March 10. The winners will be announced on March 12, so keep an eye on their Facebook page .

The organization's president, Nancy Rancourt, shared with us the joy she gets from seeing the enthusiastic and amazed young girls during their events. She also explained that she has been able to expand the organization's presence in disadvantaged schools in recent years, thanks to a partnership with Hydro-Québec. This development makes the Les Filles et les Sciences team "very proud to be able to give several young girls from these backgrounds the opportunity to discover this fascinating world."

Finally, the president shares with us her organization's greatest accomplishment. A tireless presence for over 20 years, thanks to volunteers who take this mission to heart. Since then, they have welcomed over 15,000 young girls and know from surveys that this has been the catalyst for many of them to pursue science and technology studies.

IN CANADA AND ELSEWHERE

E-mma is a French association created in 2013 by students from a computer science and new technologies school. It describes itself as a bridge between children and the world of computer science, promoting gender diversity and inclusivity in technological fields. Present in France, Spain, Albania, and Belgium, the association aims to expand internationally in the future. In 2018-2019, 60% of the people trained by the association were women and girls.
Through workshops and conferences, E-mma introduces young people and adults to programming. The goal is to raise awareness of the importance of developing technological skills in today's world.

President of the association since 2015, Dipty Chander is also very committed to inclusivity and diversity in the technology field. Having herself pursued an academic career in a male-dominated environment, she notably worked for Microsoft as a Technical Account Manager and then as a cloud specialist.
She now works for Google as a GMP Process Coordinator EMEA. Alongside her position as president of the E-mma association, she is a great example for all young women who still doubt their ability to succeed in this field!

Girls Who Code is a non-profit organization founded in the United States in 2012 by Reshma Saujani. Since then, the organization has grown across the United States, as well as Canada, the United Kingdom, and India.
Girls Who Code aims to eliminate gender inequality in technology. This means bringing more women into science and technology by promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion through its clubs. These clubs aim to cultivate an interest in computing among girls aged 11 to 18. Skills development and international community building are offered through extracurricular activities, in-school programs, and even online since 2020.
The organization offers summer day camps and programs for university students (in the United States only). Through all these initiatives, Girls Who Code has reached 300,000 girls since its inception.

Kids Code Jeunesse is a Canadian charity. Its goal is to facilitate access to digital skills education for young Canadians. With its classes, events, and clubs across Canada, KCJ empowers young people to learn to code in a fun way. KCJ also introduces and trains teachers so they can, in turn, pass on their knowledge and interest in coding.

Tech Spark is Canada's first (English-speaking) technology and design school committed to empowering children from visible minorities, girls, women, and teachers through innovative education. TechSpark's goal is to increase diversity in technology.

The school offers training for teachers who want to deliver culturally appropriate curricula and events for women. It also offers virtual (and normally in-person) workshops and day camps for young people, all with the aim of teaching robotics, UX design, programming, virtual reality, and video games.

Canada Learning Code began with the #ladieslearningcode project. The goal of this project was to teach women (among others) how to program in a social and collaborative environment. Over time, the project expanded, and #girlslearningcode, #kidslearningcode, #teenslearningcode, and #teacherslearningcode emerged. The overall project was then called Canada Learning Code.

The organization aims to enable underrepresented Canadians in the technology field to learn and develop their digital skills. Offering courses, training, events, workshops, and online resources,
Canada En Codemation also aims to make coding part of the school curriculum for Canadian students, along with mathematics or French, to make this digital skill more accessible and less intimidating.

In summary

In conclusion, despite the existence and efforts of all these organizations, there is still a long way to go before the number of women in science and technology significantly increases.
They are fighting every day to bring more women and, more generally, more diversity into these fields.

Finally, Ms. Bilodeau, director of Scientifines, and Ms. Rancourt, president of Les Filles et Les Sciences, gave us some advice to encourage women in science and technology:

• For professionals in the field: Build a closer network with schools and open your doors to young girls. Participate in fairs like those organized by Les Filles et Les Sciences. Offer exploratory days in companies and mentoring. Connect with career counselors. This way, young girls will be more exposed to these fields, making them much less intimidating and therefore more accessible. It also gives them concrete role models to identify with.
• For young people: Be curious. See what's out there, and don't be afraid to try. All your efforts will be useful and could set you apart in the future!

Acknowledgments: Valérie Bilodeau (Scientifines), Nancy Rancourt (Girls and Sciences) and Marie-Philippe Gill (Girl Knows Tech).

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