23 years ago, a gunman targeted female engineers.
This year, I worked in an industry geophysics company and in a government science office, both over half women. The situation isn’t perfect — I’ve encountered blatant sexism, as have most of my female colleagues in science and engineering — but the culture is a whole lot better now than it has been in the past. Are you a scientist or engineer? Get involved in mentoring, speak up when you see sexism, and keep working to a future where this is a strange and archaic remembrance day.
This is officially a day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. It’s about more than women in science or engineering; it’s a day of looking at the regular, pervasive violence against women just for being women, to see reality in all its warts and ugliness, and try to do better.
It’s a day of vigil, and a vow. It’s foolish, and pointless, and wrong to hate half the planet. The world can be better than this.
Related Organizations
Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology
Women in Science & Engineering: Atlantic Region
American Association of University Women
NSERC on Women in Science & Engineering