A Room of Their Own

A Room of Their Own

L-R: Katherine Gotovsky '18, Audrey Ho '18, keynote speaker Haidee Thanda, Jenny Pitt-Lainsbury, Mirjana Mijalkovic '18 and S6 student Alice Vlasov at the Girls in Tech conference.

When the First Girls established their place at UTS, they initiated a cultural transformation that changed the school forever.

When UTS opened its doors to 325 boys in 1910, the University of Toronto had only been allowing women to register in classes for about 25 years. For a brief and awkward time beforehand, women had enrolled at U of T without being granted the right to attend classes or even hold the scholarships they earned – which existed to support attendance in classes. In this strange catch-22 world, women could be recognized for their intellectual prowess within a university setting yet be barred from exercising it in lectures and seminars. So it comes as no surprise that, while UTS was originally intended to offer coeducation, boys took precedence over girls when a shortfall of funding limited the scope of the school. It was a man’s world, after all, with women still seeking a room of their own.

Fast forward to April 2018, when UTS hosted the Girls in Tech conference (GITcon) conference for about one hundred Grade 6 through 8 students around the GTA. Organized by Katherine

Gotovsky ’18, Audrey Ho ’18 and Mirjana Mijalkovic ’18, and current S6 (Grade 12) student Alice Vlasov, under the guidance of Department Coordinator of Science and chemistry teacher Jenny Pitt-Lainsbury, the event provided an opportunity for girls to attend technology workshops and sharpen their programming skills. The existence of the conference tells us that girls are still fighting to achieve equality in the STEM fields, and particularly in computer science. Statistics Canada confirms that only 30% of graduates from university computer science programs are women. But the conference also illustrates the magnitude of change that UTS has undergone in its lifetime.

Between 1910 and 2018, the world experienced countless political and cultural upheavals. But at UTS, one transformation stands out above all others. The arrival of the First Girls in 1973 forever altered the nature of teaching and learning at the school and the character of the students who have attended it.

Former Principal Don Gutteridge, who ushered in the transition to co-education after teaching at UTS for 10 years, felt strongly about having both boys and girls in the school: “Classes change when you bring together different ways of thinking and points of view. They’re better. The discussions and debates are richer. To my mind, there just isn’t a good argument against diversity. UTS became a more sophisticated place with the arrival of the girls.”

Monica Biringer ’78 was one of those First Girls whose presence left an impact on the school. “When I arrived in 1973, I felt I had been granted full licence to pursue my intellectual curiosity. UTS is a place where excitement about learning is endorsed and encouraged. That was really freeing for me and for the other girls. Looking back, I know we brought a different, complementary approach to learning. We added another point of view to the dialogue. Every student was encouraged to contribute, and the girls used their voices. That allowed us to develop confidence that made us comfortable speaking up, later on, in other co-ed environments like university and our workplaces.”

Now a partner and Co-Chair of Osler’s National Tax Group, Monica describes her career as “a long story that started at UTS. In my last year, I took three English courses and three math courses. Not your typical course selection! But I was deeply interested in both, largely because of fantastic teachers in those subject areas. I then became an English major at Queen’s who took a lot of math courses. I attended law school and chose to pursue a career in tax law, which combines my interest in English language and math. Looking back, the foundation for my current practice was laid at UTS.”

Arriving a few years later, Laura Money ’81 was another First Girl who took a STEM-oriented career path. Now Senior Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives in the Retail and Business Banking branch of CIBC, as well as the UTS Alumni Association Vice President (and a featured speaker at the Girls in Tech conference), it never crossed Laura’s mind while in high school that girls were not good at math or science.

“We all had different interests when it came to subjects,” she explains. “But they were personal preferences, not gender differences. It wasn’t until I arrived at U of T to study engineering that I learned about a bias against women in some fields. In my first two years in engineering and science, 13% of students were women. Professors were not as respectful toward female students. They didn’t voice the message I heard at UTS, which was, ‘You can have any career you want.’ I believed it, which is how I ended up in engineering.”

Laura's daughter Kiara is currently an M3 (Grade 9) student at UTS. When the two compare their generational experiences, they see one big difference.

“I didn’t have female mentors in the courses I loved the most,” says Laura. “I had great female teachers, but only men in math and science. Those men made sure the girls were as engaged and supported as the boys, and I have wonderful memories of those classes. But Kiara has role models across the entire school in every subject. She honestly doesn’t experience any difference in the disciplines. And she can see the intellectual capacity and achievement of the women right in front of her. It’s a great advantage and an important development of the school.”

Along with the First Girls, the first female faculty arrived in 1973, teaching only English, Geography and Physical Education. Today, Jenny Pitt-Lainsbury is one of many female role

models in math and science that Kiara sees every day. Jenny has been an instructional leader, F1 (Grade 7) Science and AP Chemistry teacher, and Department Coordinator for Science. Now, beginning in the 2018-2019 academic year, she is Head of Student Support and Student Innovation. As such, Jenny tackles some of the big issues in education, such as the role of girls in STEM fields.

“There are still barriers to women working in the maths and sciences,” she says. “Women are 50% of the population but about 25% of all the STEM fields combined. And the pipeline is problematic. When I came to UTS in 2004, there were no female physics or chemistry teachers. Girls were as capable in my chemistry classes as boys, but none had ever been on our Chemistry Olympiad team – or any Olympiad team. Now, we have more women than men in the science department and girls have been on Olympiad teams since 2009. Research tells us that it’s at about age 15 when girls are likely to buy into the STEM fields. Step one is seeing themselves represented in those areas in their immediate environment.”

“But there are many other steps,” Jenny adds. “We want more girls to participate in the Olympiads. We want girls to see themselves in every field. The Girls in Tech conference was a great step forward, but computer science continues to be very male-dominated. Girls need more mentorship, more female experts in their line of vision, more clubs where they feel they belong.”

Students and staff are taking up this challenge. UTS has hosted Hackergal hackathon events, and S5 (Grade 11) student Anjalee Narenthiren founded the female-focused TechExplore club with the help of staff member Vernon Kee, which has now expanded to include other GTA schools. Meanwhile, other students have enlisted Andrew Masse and other members of the IT team to support various intiatives. “As UTS continues to fulfill its strategic goals of equity and inclusion,” Jenny says, “girls will reach further and wider than ever before.”

With her son Jacob now in M3 (Grade 9) at UTS, Tina Bates ’88 agrees that equity and inclusion should be a priority in education. “By the time I arrived in the 1980s, UTS felt like a seamless environment to me, as if it had always been co-ed. The First Girls laid that foundation. It was also a much more diverse community than my grade school and a very accepting and integrated place. When Jacob came to UTS from a boys’ school, his eyes really opened. He now has friends from all over the city of different backgrounds. And, of course, he’s learning alongside girls. The fact that half his teachers are women doesn’t strike him as worth remarking. Math and science? Of course. It’s just natural. I know Jacob will feel as I did when he graduates: prepared and empowered to thrive in a co-ed world.”

Today, UTS is more diverse than it has ever been, and the arrival of the First Girls stands as a milestone on the path toward greater equity and inclusion. Monica Biringer, who is co-chair of the Building the Future campaign and a leader of the First Girls Initiative [see sidebar], sees the next step for UTS.

“This is how I think about it,” she says. “Phase one in the transformation of the school was the introduction of girls. Phase two was achieving a much more culturally and racially diverse student body. Phase three is underway now, with an ambitious building project. Throughout these phases, UTS has maintained a great bursary program to ensure socio-economic diversity. UTS started as a school where financial means was not a barrier, and it continues to believe in that ideal. Is there a better place to learn than a fully diverse and inclusive school with an exceptional commitment to learning and innovation? I don’t think so.” n

OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP: Laura Money '81 addresses Girls in Tech conference attendees. INSET: Laura Money '81 (top) and Monica Biringer '78 (bottom). BELOW: Monica Biringer '78 and Susy Opler '79 from the Twig yearbook.

FIRST GIRLS INITIATIVE

As First Girls who arrived at UTS in 1973, Building the Future campaign co-chair Monica Biringer ’78 and former Alumni member Susy Opler ’79 saw a unique way for their pioneering cohort to support the school. “This school changed our lives,” says Monica. “And we both believe strongly in securing its current location in a renewed facility, which is the focus of the campaign.”

The two set out to enlist their fellow First Girls to become donors to the school in honour of both the historic moment they ushered in and an exciting future that is currently under construction.

“Our alumni mix is not yet 50/50 men and women,” adds Monica. “And there is still a gender divide when it comes to giving potential. But we know that our group of incredible alumnae can make a difference.”

To date, the First Girls Initiative has raised over $300,000 for the Building the Future campaign.