Women in STEM

Don't be afraid to ask for help! It can be daunting and difficult to pursue STEM on your own, and none of us get to where we are all by ourselves, as much as some inspirational stories make it sound. Ask for support and guidance, especially from those in the field you're interested in. The majority of people would be happy to mentor you, but if you don’t ask, the answer will always be no. So make use of mentorship programs such as United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs Space4Women network!  And a reminder: the sky is the limit. Although the path may seem difficult, as long as you know your why and your worth, the how will come and you’ll be able to overcome any challenges that arise. I always look back at this quote to keep me going: “The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. But more importantly, the meaning of life is to give it away.”

Be yourself! Don't let anybody tell you that how you are as a lovely human being isn't good enough. Try not to care if there are less girls than boys around you in STEM related activities, just show up and do your best! Being in slightly uncomfortable situations is the way I've learned the most about myself and grown as a human being. It's not healthy to be comfortable all the time — there will be nothing to propel you forward! And always carry around a little notebook and pen, so you can write down your ideas at any time, any place — don't use your phone.

Did you know that women make up only 23 percent of science and technology workers in Canada?

The Canadian Association for Girls in Science (CAGIS) provides diverse role models to girls and gender nonconforming youth, which can increase their interest in pursuing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)

Meet Lexie

Lexie knew she wanted to be a scientist from an early age, and by grade 11, she had her career path completely mapped out. A university degree and a post-graduate certificate later, Lexie was living her dream as a research and development chemist. She was proud of her achievements, but wondered about girls who hadn’t had the same opportunities and encouragement in STEM. “I wanted to help young girls

get into higher education,” she says.

“I wanted to bridge that gap and be a role model.” Was there an organization where she could do that?

Making a difference

Lexie did some research and discovered CAGIS, a national STEM club for girls.

Now she helps members aged 7 to 16 get a glimpse of science in the lab and workplace. She works with other volunteers to organize monthly events, like taking a trip to a bird banding station, doing a coding workshop, or visiting a university genetics lab. She’s even led events in her field of expertise. At one, she took girls through the process of making their own bath bombs, teaching them about pH and chemical reactions along the way. They had a blast, and so did all the volunteers.

“I saw I could make an impact,” says Lexie. “By showing the things I was interested in, I could inspire

someone else to be interested, too.”

Going

virtual during COVID

Throughout the pandemic, Lexie has continued to stay involved and come up with ways for kids to explore real science at home. She spoke to a national audience of participants at two recent virtual events. At one session focused on soaps and shampoos, girls performed three simple experiments using ordinary household materials, while Lexie modelled how to think like a chemist. During another event, she talked about the properties of fluids and showed how to stack liquids of different densities to make a colourful rainbow. She was struck by how absorbed the members were. “They were so hungry to learn more,” she says.

Being part of CAGIS gives Lexie the chance to inspire and be a role model. Most importantly, it lets her spread the message she wants to share: “If there’s a career you can dream of, you can be it.”

Publisher: Sarah Ferreira Business Development Manager: Chelsea Siemon Strategic Account Manager: Anna Sibiga Strategic Account Director: Jessica Golyatov Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis

Fan Designer: Lauren Livingston Web Editor: Karthik Talwar

What would you say is the most important lesson you could offer to girls interested in pursuing a career in STEM?

What advice would you give to young girls to inspire them to pursue STEM?

Catherine McKenzie

Women are making waves in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and are being celebrated for their research and innovation. We asked Zainab Azim and Ann Makosinski about their experiences as women in STEM and their advice for young girls pursuing careers as future scientists, engineers, and innovators. Read their full Q&As at innovatingcanada.ca

Job and Training Funding Programs Bring Young Women Into STEM Leadership Roles

Indigenous communities around Canada turn to the diverse team at Narratives Inc. to help them navigate the project-planning landscape, and Narratives turns to ECO Canada to help navigate the funding landscape.

At a young age, Heather Webb of Manitoba already has her dream job. As an Environmental Planner at Narratives Inc., she's able to apply her skills and experience in a way that makes a quantitative difference to Canadian Indigenous communities and in the Canadian environmental landscape. “I'm doing exactly the work that always imagined I'd be doing,” Webb says.

“I’m working with Indigenous nations every day, building relationships with really incredible people and Elders. Every project we do is different, and they all excite me in different ways. It's where I'm meant to be.”

To get to where she is today, Webb was diligent in following an educational and skills-building path that focused on environmental and Indigenous studies. She took advantage of her school’s co-op work placement program, got her Environmental Professional in-training (EPt) designation, and kept abreast of job-funding and wage subsidy programs. Throughout this process, she kept crossing paths with ECO Canada, the steward for Canada’s environmental professionals across all industries. Webb’s position at Narratives was subsidized through ECO Canada’s Science Horizons Youth Internship program, funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“The Science Horizons Youth Internship program is integral to our mission at ECO Canada, which is to champion the end-to-end career of environmental professionals,” says ECO Canada’s President and CEO, Kevin Nilsen. “We need to be able to fill the talent pipeline with graduates who have the skills to help the environmental and clean technology sectors thrive in Canada.”

Diverse voices for a stronger environmental industry Somia Sadiq, the Founder and Principal Partner of Narratives Inc., has a rich personal perspective on the potential for wage subsidy programs like this one to not only promote the development of environmental professionals, but also to promote equality of opportunity for young women, BIPOC individuals, and new Canadians. “I came to Canada as an international student,” Sadiq says. “I wore a hijab for the first few years that I was here, so I've definitely experienced firsthand how much more difficult it can be to be a part of the

workforce when you face discrimination. I deeply appreciate ECO Canada’s wage subsidy programs, especially during the pandemic. They have done so much for small businesses and we can’t be grateful enough.”

Programs like this one have helped Sadiq grow Narratives from a one-woman operation in 2017 to a diverse team of 15 in 2021 that brings a fresh STEM perspective to project planning in Indigenous communities across the country. The projects they're working on currently include efforts in the documentation of the residential school system and the continued search for unmarked graves.

Sadiq, Webb, and the rest of the team are deeply proud of their work and honoured to be a part of ongoing reconciliation.

“I'm really glad to be a part of that process and that these Elders who we're so close with are trusting us to help share their stories,” says Webb. “I'm always excited about the unknown project we're going to work on next and how we're going to approach it with our awesome team.”

OWN Your Career: Technical Training For Underemployed Canadians In Ontario

Underrepresented newcomers in tech: “In a competitive global economy, Canada can’t afford to leave talent on the sidelines.”

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills have long been associated with innovation and a resilient economy, but women, particularly those who are newcomers to Canada, are often underrepresented in STEM fields.

According to the National Sciences and Research Council of Canada, “Canada’s greatest potential can only be realized when all people are welcomed into the laboratory, the classroom, and the field. We all benefit from the wide range of perspectives and talent that make our research and our society better. In a competitive global economy, Canada can’t afford to leave talent on the sidelines.”

“Now more than ever is a time to come together and focus on leveraging our collective expertise and identifying creative solutions that will support the employment and training needs of our province’s workforce,” says Minister Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “Our job is to connect the dots and ensure newcomers have the support they need to pursue the in-demand

and fulfilling careers available in their new home and to provide for their families. These training investments will go a long way to strengthening our economy and local communities."

OWN it: take tech training Lighthouse Labs is a national organization that was created in 2013 by a team of software developers who have a love of code, a belief in the power of mentorship and education, and a drive to contribute to the development of Canada’s tech talent.

One of the company’s programs is the Ontario WebDevelopers Network (OWN) initiative, funded in part by Skills Advance Ontario. Originally developed to address labour market access barriers for both newcomer women and the employers who hire them, Lighthouse Labs partnered with Achēv, the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre, the YMCA of Greater Toronto and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, amongst others, to deliver a pioneering program that funds and trains unemployed, underemployed, and underrepresented Ontarians in the skills needed to work in the digital economy.

“The pandemic has accelerated the future of work, and now more than ever, having technical skills is essential to entering the workforce,” says Jeremy Shaki, CEO and co-founder of Lighthouse Labs. “Ontario is home to some of the world’s most prominent tech hubs. Opportunities like the OWN initiative will not only give participants the skills required to be part of this booming industry, it will help strengthen and rebuild our economy.”

A bootcamp for the brain, not the body

Eligible participants are enrolled in Lighthouse Labs’ highly successful, 12-week immersive Web Development Bootcamp to learn everything from JavaScript to software architecture. Additional resources, such as career coaching and interview prep, are offered to ensure that each student is ready to make their leap into a career in tech.

And the success rate speaks for itself: in its 2020 Student Outcomes Report, Lighthouse Labs reports that out of 478 total Web Development Bootcamp graduates, 97 percent of the job-seeking grads found employment and 87 percent were hired within 180 days.

To apply for funding or search for jobs, visit eco.ca/ job-funding

This article was sponsored by ECO Canada.

To find out more about the program and eligibility as well as other initiatives, visit lighthouselabs.ca

This article was sponsored by Lighthouse Labs.

I'm working with Indigenous nations every day, building relationships with really incredible people and Elders. Every project we do is different, and they all excite me in different ways. It's where I'm meant to be.

D.F. McCourt

Janice Tober

Heather Webb Environmental Planner, Narratives Inc.

Somia Sadiq Founder & Principal Partner, Narratives Inc.

Building Connections for Wildlife Science and Species Survival

Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit, the birthplace of the Convention on Biological Diversity and a critical first step toward global change. At that same time in June 1992, I was staring at my freshly-printed Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto, a little fearful of the great unknown that lay ahead but excited for the possibilities hiding around the next corner. I felt hope for the planet and hope for me, but little did I know where my willingness to take the lessbeaten path would lead me. I have never undervalued the contribution of women scientists in forming the person I

am today, especially those who saw enough potential to get me started on an incredible science journey. After more than 20 years in the trenches honing my skills as a reproductive biologist, I turned yet another corner and took on a new challenge as Director of Conservation Science at the Toronto Zoo. I’m as excited about science today as I was on that fateful day in 1992.

More than 30 years ago, the Toronto Zoo made a commitment to science. It was the only zoo in Canada, and one of only a handful of zoos in North America, to lead the way in establishing a multidisciplinary approach to understanding and resolving complex issues impacting the health and survival of animals in managed care and in the wild. Today, the Toronto Zoo continues to push the boundaries of conservation science with local and national partnerships for research and education. Along with the impressive team of scientists who bring together over 150 years of experience, the zoo’s diverse animal community is an invaluable resource that allows scientists to dig deeply into questions that cannot be easily addressed in free-ranging animals. In the next stage of the zoo’s science journey, building and strengthening connections between knowledge holders and conservation practitioners from all communities will be the cornerstone of a conservation science strategy that ensures meaningful and significant conservation impact. Let’s dare to dream what the next 30 years of science at the zoo will bring.

Iwill never forget the first embryo I created in the lab. We had rescued sperm and eggs from recently-deceased animals and introduced them together in a petri dish. We waited and watched until they started to divide — one single-cell egg split into two cells, which went on to become four cells. Within seven days, that single egg turned into a microscopic ball of about 200 cells that could, if transferred into a surrogate female, develop into a living, breathing animal. Until that point in my career, I had waffled between several scientific disciplines, but that embryo sealed my fate within reproductive physiology. She may not realize, but the few hours my manager spent

with me at the microscope laid the foundation for my career. Since then, I've witnessed the potential for assisted reproductive technologies to support rare and threatened animal populations by protecting genetic diversity and slowing the rate of extinction. For some populations, like the northern white rhinoceros, these technologies are the only resource that remains. That’s so powerful and enticing, how could I not be enthralled with that tiny embryo?

Iwas a late joiner to both the veterinary and zoo worlds. I was more than halfway through a marine biology degree before realizing that there was really only one Jacques Cousteau. It took another few years and career ideas to finally end up in vet school. My first job after veterinary college took me to a mixed-animal practice in northern Alberta where I managed to get kicked a hundred times, but one eventually learns where not to stand! Working in a remote area serviced by a few veterinarians was a great opportunity to develop skills, confidence, and independence. While women veterinarians in large-animal practice still face barriers to

There is rarely a straightforward career path in conservation science, and exotic animal nutrition is no exception. With strong women inspiring me to follow my own unique path, I stumbled upon the wonderful world of zoo nutrition during an internship at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas, when I was 20 years old. It was exciting, inspiring, and aligned with my passion of advocating for animals. From that moment, I knew that I would become a conservationist dedicated to nutrition. I focused my graduate studies on horse nutrition to build a solid science-based foundation for exotic species. Without a formal training path for zoo nutritionists, after graduate school I sought

acceptance, the field is robust with female trailblazers, mentors, and supporters. A few years later, I'm thrilled to be the Conservation Research Veterinarian at the Toronto Zoo. I couldn't have dreamt up a better job surrounded by highly-competent and driven women in positions of leadership. I'm fortunate to spend my days in a mix of research and medicine with amazing animals, all in the service of conservation!

out zoo nutrition internships and residencies. My path led me to the Toronto Zoo as recipient of the Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition Foundation’s Sue Crissey Animal Nutrition Residency Fund. My role is to actively learn how to improve nutrition welfare via the foods we offer — in the nutrients they provide and the animals’ interactions with them. How fortunate to be in a career where your contributions lead to improving the lives of animals!

PaulaMackie

Dr.

Dr.

Siga

Veterinary Science

Behavioural Science

Welfare Science Nutrition Science

Species Recovery Science

sponsored by the Toronto Zoo.

Reproductive Science

How Women Are Driving Meaningful Change in the Biopharma Industry

In Canada, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions are still heavily male-dominated. In fact, women make up less than one quarter of people employed in STEM careers. Building the next generation of female STEM talent is critical for solving the complex problems of today and the future.

Despite the societal barriers, the opportunity to guide young girls to develop a passion for STEM and global sciences is more important than ever. Fortunately, the foundation exists. According to a 2019 survey by Microsoft, 52 per cent of girls aged 12 to 17 said they would consider a job in a technology or science-related field. There are endless opportunities for women to not only break barriers

Vekil

but to thrive in the STEM industry. There are a growing number of Canadian companies championing this cause by recruiting and retaining more female talent. As a leading biopharma in Canada and with a mission to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is inspiring a new generation of women within the pharma industry. With 184 women in STEM roles, 68 per cent of women in Senior Manager positions and 66 per cent of women in Manager positions, BMS is committed to embracing gender representation and diversity by advancing the careers of women in biopharma. Here are the stories of some of the women at BMS who are making a difference.

Lisa Willoughby Senior Manager, Clinical Operations, Site Monitoring

What made you decide on a STEM career?

My passion for STEM started in high school. I found the science program very interesting and was already curious about the medical field. I was fascinated by the immune system, a topic very relevant to the work I do today.

Tell me about your career path. I have a PhD in molecular and cellular sciences. I worked in academic research in oncology before joining medical affairs at BMS six years ago. As a Senior Scientific Advisor, I’m responsible for portions of the company’s medical strategy to bring new personalized therapies to Canadian cancer patients. I also advise different divisions, specifically cancer immunotherapy – working closely with the clinical research and commercial teams as a link between research, development, and the real world. Being able to explain the science to others is an important part of my role.

How has BMS provided you with opportunities as a woman in STEM? I have always felt extremely supported by BMS. I’m part of an employee resource group at BMS that supports the development of women. We focus on career development, work-life balance and host events, for example networking events, specifically aimed at women. I have also had the opportunity to take part in a global mentorship program.

What do you love about working at BMS?

We all have the same mission, which is to improve the lives of patients. It’s a mission that’s close to everybody’s heart and we can all unite around it.

Vanessa Berkling Senior Manager, Medical Education MS, UC, Psoriasis and Rheumatology

My background is in communications and commerce, but I moved to pharma in 2002. I was given an exciting opportunity when someone took a chance and offered me a contract sales role which turned into the career I have today.

Tell me about your career path. I started in sales, where I had the opportunity to connect with physicians. Seeing healthcare providers solve serious health issues and address challenges inspired my passion for science. Today, as a Senior Medical Education Manager at BMS, I help identify innovative, high-quality medical education opportunities that close gaps in healthcare provider knowledge; strengthening their professional competence and ultimately improving patient outcomes.

How has BMS provided you with opportunities as a woman in STEM?

One of BMS’ biggest strengths is its people. Everyone is dedicated to making an impact on patients’ lives. BMS reinforces a culture of diversity and inclusion. There are mentorship programs and courses that provide endless opportunities to feel empowered.

What advice would you give to a young girl considering a role in STEM? It’s never too early and it’s never too late. I didn’t have a traditional path in to STEM and was able to pivot. It’s okay to try something new and fail, but it’s not okay to not try.

to see how we’re bringing a human touch to everything we do.

What made you decide on a STEM career?

From a young age, I had a love for science. I wanted to understand the way things worked – our bodies, the world around us. My mom was a nurse. She instilled my passion for science and inspired me to pursue nursing.

Tell me about your career path. For the first 10 years of my career, I was a critical care nurse. There, I was exposed to pharma and wanted to better understand the research side of patient care. I then worked as a research nurse in cardiology before joining BMS. I first worked in the field as a Clinical Trial Monitor, and now I’m a Clinical Operations Manager.

How has BMS provided you with opportunities as a woman in STEM? BMS is incredibly supportive of all development opportunities. We are encouraged to grow and develop.

What advice would you give to a young girl considering a role in STEM? Follow your passion, and don’t limit yourself. Women are still underrepresented in STEM, but by supporting one another we can create more opportunities. With a science degree, the opportunities out there are huge. I would also encourage women to have a female mentor.

Head, Oncology

What made you decide on a STEM

career?

Instead of putting pressure on myself to immediately commit to one specific career path, I decided to approach my career by looking at different industries. Having the privilege to work for an industry that has revolutionized the way we treat certain diseases and improves the lives of patients is a great reason to get up and go to work every day.

Tell

me

about your career path. I had a traditional commercial pharmaceutical career path. I started as a medical representative and took on roles of increased responsibility across multiple areas of business.

How has BMS provided you with opportunities as a woman in STEM? BMS offered me this position when I was eight months pregnant. I don’t know many companies that would do this. This gave me a glimpse for how female talent is supported at BMS.

What advice would you give to a young girl considering a role in STEM? The advice I have goes for anyone considering a career in STEM or another field. Don’t feel like you need to figure out the career you will do for the rest of your life right out of high school. Be curious, flexible and follow your interests. Your career can evolve and change. And finally, don’t assume you need a science degree for a career in STEM.

We are in the business of breakthroughs—our pipeline is focused on innovative medicines that transform patients’ lives. Our scientists are addressing some of the most challenging diseases of our time. We will never give up our search for more hope, for more patients, around the world.

Melissa

Filippa Pettersson Senior Scientific Advisor, Medical Lead, CAR T

What made you decide on a STEM career?

Nadia Turchetta

This page was sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb Canada.

Innovative Program Helps Close Gender Gap in STEM

The Women in Engineering and Information Technology (WiE&IT) Program is one of the first of its kind in Canada and is geared toward helping women students thrive in their studies and helping set their career up for success.

“By collaborating with partners who are leaders in engineering and IT, Carleton will connect students to industry and government professionals and do our part to reconcile a culture that has historically treated women as intrinsically different,” says Carleton’s Engineering and Design Dean Dr. Larry Kostiuk.

The program is supported by 15 industry and government partners, including Trend Micro, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, CGI, Gastops, Leonardo DRS, Lockheed Martin, Amdocs, Blackberry QNX, CAE, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, EllisDon, Ericsson, Nokia, Ross, and Solace. By partnering with Carleton, women students will have access to networking and mentorship opportunities, and will be equipped with knowledge and tools to enter the engineering and IT profession with confidence.

Bridging the gap between university and the workforce Dr. Banu Örmeci, professor and faculty advisor for Carleton’s Women in Science and Engineering chapter, believes that, “By connecting our students with working professionals in the engineering and IT fields through the WiE&IT Program, we can enhance women’s educational journeys and help to close the gender gap in STEM.”

Carleton offers some of the most hands-on and invigorating engineering and IT programs in the country. By preparing students for careers that are in high demand, it's committed to remaining a leading and inclusive institution.

F C T G

SCWIST Removes Barriers to Unlock STEM Innovation

As an immigrant to Canada from Malaysia at 10 years old, I’ve always felt embarrassed by my accent and I was often teased about not having an “English” name. Although a long time has passed, “You’re a scientist? But you’re a girl!”  is still something I hear when I share my research.

Sadly, my story is hardly unique. Nasira Aziz, also an immigrant, chose to stay home to raise her children for 15 years. Despite having an MBA in Innovation Leadership and substantive work experience, she faced challenges in returning to her profession.

As Board members at SCWIST (Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology), we share our experiences, support each other, and provide mentorship for women in STEM.  Our goal is to bring equity, diversity, and inclusivity to the forefront. This includes innovating ways of learning, advocating for more diverse representation in leadership, and creating opportunities for culturally-diverse people to thrive in their careers.

We believe that a community becomes diverse when we dissolve boundaries that separate scholarship based on discipline, equitable when traditional boundaries of knowledge and acceptance are disrupted, and inclusive when different ways of knowing and learning are embraced. Removing barriers for women in STEM will unlock the innovation potential and economic prosperity for all.

As the voice for women in STEM for 40 years, SCWIST is a national non-profit that promotes, encourages, and empowers women and girls through programs including the Make Possible mentorship and Make DIVERSITY Possible. Dr. Poh Tan is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and published author. As SCWIST Director of Strategic Partnerships and Fundraising, Dr. Poh expands the impact of programs that engage youth, create mentoring connections, advance leadership capacity, and advocate for change. Nasira Aziz was the Director for Leadership and Immigrating Women in STEM (IWIS) program.

t ppleby College, we believe in the development of the whole student, with an emphasis on combining science with imagination, creativity and innovation to help improve the world. Through our dedicated esign Lab, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, students have the opportunity to stretch their mind and imagination across different disciplines as they focus on learning through investigation and are encouraged to see things in different ways. re you ready to begin writing your own fascinating story?

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T WWW. PPL BY.O .C TO L R OR .

sponsored by Carleton University.

This article was sponsored by SCWIST.

Carleton University is committed to bridging the gender gap in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields through its recentlylaunched program.

Dr. Larry Kostiuk Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Design, Carleton University

Dr. Poh Tan Director of Strategic Partnerships & Fundraising, SCWIST

Dr. Banu Őrmeci Professor & Faculty Advisor, Carleton University

Nasira Aziz Board Member, SCWIST

Katherine Cappellacci

Mitacs is Helping Connect Businesses with Skilled Women in STEM Fields

Janice Tober

The importance of gender diversity in the workplace is a wellknown topic backed by research, statistics, and social observation. Studies have shown that a diverse team, for example, is likely to outperform a team lacking diversity, even if members of the less-diverse group are individually more highly-skilled. Diversity brings different perspectives, creativity, and thinking to a challenge and, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, this translates to greater innovation.

Team Lead with Mitacs, a national notfor-profit organization that designs and delivers research and training programs focused on innovation with the support of governments, academic institutions, and industry.

Mitacs works with STEM businesses and universities

fill the gap between business

and skilled talent. Students are able to apply what they've learned to a work setting during their studies. Not only is this an effective way to give women the experience of what it would be like to work in their industry, but we found that these interns tend to stay in the field once they enter the workforce.

According to a report published in September 2019 by the Government of Canada, A Gender Analysis of the Occupational Pathways of STEM Graduates in Canada, women now account for the majority of overall university graduates. And yet, this same report states “Over one third of men (37.5 percent) with a bachelor's degree had studied in a STEM field, compared to 15 percent of women with a bachelor's degree.”

What, then, can companies do to attract more women to these fields, which offer lucrative careers in high-demand sectors?

Knowing what’s out there

One of the ways organizations are drawing women to STEM is ensuring that they're aware of the opportunities and supports that are available to them while they pursue their education.

Sherry Zhao is a Senior Account Manager and BC Business Development

“Mitacs works with STEM businesses and universities to fill the gap between business innovation and skilled talent,” said Zhao. “Students are able to apply what they’ve learned to a work setting during their studies. Not only is this an effective way to give women the experience of what it would be like to work in their industry, but we found that these interns tend to stay in the field once they enter the workforce.”

Mitacs’ flagship internship program is called Accelerate. Through the program, businesses are connected with post-secondary institutions and students to develop a research project and apply for the grant. “Students work with a company or community organization to help solve challenges the organization faces,” says Zhao.

courses or seminars and through meeting other scientists. But, as an intern, you get to see people in different roles — working full-time jobs in the manufacturing facility — and it shows you where your career could go.”

“The program supports female students by creating alternative pathways to show how and where women can apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to a real-life situation, on a real-life problem. Not only that, but it also demonstrates to potential employers how STEM can be applied in their business,” explains Zhao. “When we work with a company, we translate a business need into an R&D project and, when a woman is on the team, it brings a different perspective to solving that challenge.”

Career advice included Aside from her research project, Jamieson-Datzkiw engaged in workshops offered through Mitacs. “One of the talks I attended was given by a woman who started in the lab and took us through her career trajectory. It was really nice to get tips and tricks from another woman in the field, from networking advice to issues surrounding intellectual property,” she says.

The program supports female students by creating alternative pathways to show how and where women can apply what they've learned in the classroom to a real-life situation, on a real-life problem.

Taylor Jamieson-Datzkiw is a Mitacs intern and MD-PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa. She believes that it's important to receive the kind of on-the-job learning that Mitacs offers. “The internship takes you out of academia,” she says. “As a grad student you learn through your

Besides the Accelerate initiative, Mitacs offers additional programming for women in STEM. Elevate, for instance, is an annual competitive initiative that includes a research management training program and a postdoctoral fellowship. The organization also offers a Business Strategy Internship program, a Canadian Science Policy Fellowship, and international opportunities.

Make A Liquid Rainbow

You'll need: honey r , blue dish soap r , vegetable oil r , rubbing alcohol r , food colouring r , water r glass jar r

Procedure: Put 50 - 100mL of each ingredient in a separate bowl. Add one drop of red food colouring and one drop of blue food colouring to the honey and stir. Add green food colouring to the water. Add red food colouring to the rubbing alcohol. Now slowly layer your liquids in your jar. Pour the honey in the jar first, to a height of 2 or 3 cm. Then add the same amount of dish soap. Next, add the water. Pour slowly down the side of the jar so it doesn't mix with the soap. Add the vegetable oil, and finally, the rubbing alcohol. You have your very own liquid rainbow!

Why don't the liquids mix? The liquids stay in separate layers because they each have a different density. Density is a measure of how much mass (or "stuff") there is in a given volume. In dense liquids, the molecules are more tightly packed. Less dense liquids will float on top of more dense liquids!

Diversity brings different perspectives, interpretations, and thinking to a challenge and, in STEM fields, this translates to greater innovation.

Sherry Zhao Senior Account Manager & BC and Yukon Business Development Team Lead, Mitacs

Taylor JamiesonDatzkiw Intern, Mitacs

This article was sponsored by Mitacs.

Contact a member of the Mitacs business development team to find out more about these and other opportunities.

to

innovation