Recordings of the conference sessions are now available. Click on the day below to view the recording.
Join Engineers Canada at this year’s 30 by 30 conference, a multi-day virtual gathering for 30 by 30 Champions, engineering leaders, and engineers. Actively engage and raise awareness of activities and research that focus on addressing the culture of exclusion against women and underrepresented groups (i.e. Black, Indigenous, people of colour, LGBTQ2+, persons with disabilities) in the profession.
The conference is part of Engineers Canada’s Strategic Priority 3: the recruitment, retention, and professional development of women in engineering, and Operational imperative 9: increasing Indigenous access to engineering.
Conference objectives:
- Present best practices from regulators and industry that address the barriers women face when entering and remaining in the profession.
- Raise awareness of how cultural and systemic barriers can be addressed by regulators and engineering leaders to affect change in engineering culture, including addressing discrimination, harassment, micro-aggressions, and lack of opportunities.
- Support increased acknowledgement from engineering leaders of the issue and foster a commitment to breaking the cycle of exclusion.
This event will be free and open to all engineering stakeholders across the country. We hope to convene a wide audience of engineering regulators, engineering deans, students, and employers. June 2, 2021 is the opening of our multi-day, month-long conference that will run each Wednesday, ending on June 23, which is also International Women in Engineering Day (INWED). We hope you will join us and hundreds of other engineers to learn and share about the work of addressing gender equity, and the need to support underrepresented groups in the profession.
DAY 1: Wednesday, June 2, 2021
12:30 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. ET
Culture change is necessary: Addressing the culture of exclusion to advance gender equity
To open this year’s 30 by 30 virtual conference, a gathering for 30 by 30 Champions, engineering leaders, and engineers, Engineers Canada invites you to join a discussion of the current state of gender equity in the profession and what has been working to increase the number of women in engineering and dismantle the cultural and systemic barriers impede progress towards 30 by 30.
The opening of the conference features a keynote address from Charlene Theodore, the Ontario Bar Association’s first Black President. She has led the OBA’s groundbreaking initiative, Not Another Decade, which is focused on moving the dial on equality for Black and Indigenous people and people of colour. She is also committed to working with lawyers and law firms to reimagine workplaces through the OBA’s Work That Works initiative, building productive, profitable, healthy and inclusive work environments for all lawyers.
1:40 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
Break
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Perspectives: Indigenous women in engineering
Join us for a panel discussion featuring Indigenous engineers who are women as they share their stories and career development journeys and recount how they have made a place for themselves in the profession.
DAY 2: Wednesday, June 9, 2021
12:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. ET
Collecting data on diversity demographics
Regulators present their research and data collection best practices. What data is collected and how is it used? What are the challenges in collecting the data? How does it impact engineers and employers to have this data?
There will be an opportunity for virtual breakout rooms. Each panelist will lead a smaller group discussion to answer questions and work on solutions with other participants. We want to give participants and panelists the chance to work through problems and take away actionable advice they can implement in their own jurisdictions on improving data collection and research on gender and diversity demographics.
DAY 3: Wednesday, June 16, 2021
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET
Integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion into engineering practice and education
The session will be focused on best practices within post-secondary institutions and regulators in integrating strategic tactics that support systemic changes in engineering towards improving diversity, equity, and inclusion. Join panellists from the University of British Columbia, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Engineers Yukon, and the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board as they present their ground-breaking initiatives and what impact they hope to have on gender equity, diversity, and inclusion in engineering education and practice.
DAY 4: Wednesday, June 23, 2021
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET
Now and for the future: Bridging engineering generations through dialogue
In celebration of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) we invite you to a dynamic dialogue event that brings together young leaders and senior leaders in the profession for a conversation about creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive engineering profession. We will hear from a group of diverse, young leaders in engineering who identify as women as they share their vision for the future of engineering, as well as senior leaders who will speak about how they are responding and advocating for culture change in the profession, and what kinds of tactics are currently working in the workplace.
Moderated by Vanessa Raquel Raponi, the Founder of EngiQueers Canada (www.engiqueers.ca) - a national non-profit that advocates for intersectional queer inclusion in the engineering profession. Panelists include leaders from Manitoba Hydro, Morrison Hershfield, and Women in Renewable Energy.
30 by 30 Initiative Background
Engineers Canada is working to increase the representation of women within engineering through its 30 by 30 initiative. This initiative has a goal of raising the percentage of newly licensed engineers who are women to 30 per cent by the year 2030. Thirty per cent is universally held as the tipping point for sustainable change—reaching 30 by 30 will help drive the shift in the overall membership of the engineering profession as more and more women continue to enter the profession. 30 by 30 has received national support across all provinces and territories. Engineers Canada collaborates with engineering regulators and other stakeholders to facilitate a national vision on this issue, including a network of thought leaders/Champions who will be convening during the month of June to share best practices and learn from experts.