Marilyn Spink, Executive Director at Canadian Critical Minerals & Materials Alliance (C2M2A), believes women must be full and equal participants in the engineering profession, because they bring a diversity of design thinking that is absolutely essential to our shared future.
Over her 30-plus year career as a professional mining and metallurgical engineer, while managing massive, complex projects, Spink has supported and advised women struggling to navigate engineering careers. She has used her professional and personal network to connect women with others who can offer coaching, work, or other supports, and has frequently helped internationally trained engineers, many of them women, gain the Canadian employment experience required for licensure.
While managing the engineering design and construction phase of a nickel processing megaproject in Madagascar, Spink helped local women develop small businesses, using their capacity in grass weaving and basketry to make geotextiles that were used locally to prevent soil erosion during construction, creating a positive impact for women and their families in the region. As a project management coach at Isherwood Geostructural Engineers, Spink shared her years of project delivery expertise with an upcoming generation of mostly women engineers, and has continued this work in her role at C2M2A.
When her three children were young, Spink worked as a presenter for Scientists in the Schools, an initiative to introduce young girls to science and engineering concepts that has reached over 10 million Canadian children.
As a mentor with International Women in Mining, Spink advocates for women who have experienced gender-based barriers at their workplaces, helping them reestablish their careers. She has also informally mentored and supported many women and underrepresented engineers, using her considerable social capital to make introductions and connections that have furthered their careers and helped them succeed. She cofounded the Women in Mining (WIM) Canada Trailblazer Award to help recognize women’s achievements in the field she has spent her career in.
Spink believes real progress must begin with leadership accountability. She calls on engineering leaders, who are mostly men, to actively foster environments where women have equal opportunities to thrive across every part of the profession, from the office to the field. While mentorship can open doors, she believes lasting progress will only happen when leaders use their power and influence to drive meaningful change. “Women have done enough,” she says. “Real change will happen when the entire profession chooses to engage.”
