Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology

The Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST), founded in Vancouver, BC in 1981, is a not-for-profit organization that promotes, encourages and empowers women and girls in science, engineering and technology.

Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology
Founded1981
TypeProfessional Organization
Location
Area served
BC and Yukon, Canada.[1][2]
Members
160+
Revenue
[3]
EndowmentMichael Smith Endowment Fund
Websitehttp://www.scwist.ca/

History

SCWIST was founded in Vancouver, BC in 1981[4] by six women: Mary Vickers, Hilda Ching,[5] Abby Schwarz, Mary Jo Duncan, Diana Herbst and Margaret Benston. It was registered as a charity under the federal Income Tax Act[1][6] in 1984.[4]

In 1983, the Registry of Skilled Women, BC and Yukon was produced. SCWIST also organized the first National Conference on Women in Science and Technology the same year. The members focused on girls and the development of the educational programs for them. The program Girls in Science[7] started in 1984 and ran in many communities in BC.[8] The program grew over the years into ms infinity (1990) and Project Tomorrow (1993). Ms infinity program is still ongoing. It is funded by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council[9] and it inspires young women by introducing them to exciting careers in science and technology.[7][10] Ms infinity program also offers an e-mentoring program for the girls in the 11th and 12th grades.[11]

SCWIST established a first year achievement award for a female student enrolled in BCIT full-time technology program in 1986. This award was renamed in honour of Margaret Benston after her death in 1991 to Margaret Lowe Benston Memorial.[12] The scholarship program expanded over the years.[13]

SCWIST members admiring Michael Smith's Nobel prize.1994

The stability in SCWIST funding was achieved with the establishment of Michael Smith Endowment Fund in 1993.[14] Half of the prize money from Nobel prize as well as the matching amount from different government organizations was put into Vancouver Foundation's Michael Smith Fund.[15]

The first SCWIST web site was launched in 1997. The update and new logos were done in 2012.[16]

Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology leaflets changed over the years

The most recent acknowledgement of the SCWIST value was done by Status of Women Canada. This grant funded a launch of an online mentorship network in 2014.[17] This program (named makepossible) was developed to attract, retain and advance women in science and technology.[18][19][20]

Immigrating Women in Science program (IWIS) started in 1999.[4] It offers mentorship and other resources to women who have immigrated to Canada after having trained and established careers in science, engineering and technology in other countries.[21] IWIS is partially funded by British Columbia Government.[3][22] IWIS also creates opportunities for the skilled immigrants to express their opinions.[23]

Other SCWIST activities include workshops, speaker's events and networking opportunities for women to make valuable academic and industry contacts and develop a sense of community with other women in scientific fields. The prominent event held yearly is XX evening organized in cooperation with Science World (Vancouver).[24] Many other events are organized with the prominent partners such as CIHR Café Scientifique,[25] Creating Connections [26] and many others.[27][28]

From the six founders in 1981, membership in SCWIST has grown steadily into a network of women providing support to individuals, able to help when faced with the obstacles in the science and technology careers[29]

Governance

SCWIST is incorporated under the BC Societies Act and governed by a Board of Directors.[1][4] The Annual General Meeting held each spring and open to all members of the Society, votes on major decisions and elects directors. The Board is headed by the president and meets regularly in Vancouver. The ongoing work of SCWIST is carried out by standing and ad hoc committees and paid employees appointed by the Board.

2014 AGM SCWIST (Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology)

As of July 2015 [30] there are 5 paid employees and the following committees are active:

  • Communications
  • Events
  • Grants
  • IWIS
  • Membership
  • ms infinity
  • Strategic Development

Advocacy

The name Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology often creates confusion: using for instead of women in science and technology. The society membership of all genders work for the women in science and technology advancement. There is no record of how many members are not women but SCWIST history and funding does include influential men such as Michael Smith.

Some members are vocal about current affairs such as women on Canadian one-hundred-dollar note [31] and Canadian Status of Women Committee [32]

References
  1. "Charity Focus". Imagine Canada. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
  2. "National Organizations". Engineers Canada. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  3. "SCWIST Supporters". SCWIST. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  4. "SFU Archive". Simon Fraser University. 2012-08-01.
  5. Ching, Hilda (1991). Hilda Ching's Final Report as Ruth Wynn Woodward Professor (pdf) (Report). Simon Fraser University. When the National Committee for Women in Engineering was being organized, I participated for SCWIST in discussions on the kind of research which should be done to increase numbers of women engineers.
  6. "Registered Canadian charities". Canada Helps. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
  7. Szpitun, Lin (1991). "Women Do Math and Ms Infinity: Two Projects for Girls Who Like Math" (PDF). WOMEN'S EDUCATION DES FEMMES (in English and French). Toronto. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  8. "SCWIST Expanding Horizons Since 1981". SCWIST. 2011-05-02.
  9. "PromoScience Program". NSERC. 2020-05-29.
  10. Alphonso, Caroline (2012-11-22). "Science careers start with young girls". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 2015-06-26. 'Whether it’s obvious or not, there’s still a picture in everybody’s head of what a good scientist or what a good engineer looks like. And it’s often not a pretty young woman. There’s a responsibility among adults to show kids role models that reflect the reality, which is that there’s lots of women in science," said Sandra Eix, vice-president of programs for the non-profit Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology.
  11. "E-Mentoring Projects". ICTC. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  12. "Generally Eligible Awards-BCIT" (xlsx). Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  13. "SCWIST Scholarships". SCWIST. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  14. "Dr. Michael Smith, Nobel Laureate". University of British Columbia. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  15. Eric Damer; Caroline Astell (2004). No Ordinary Mike: Michael Smith, Nobel Laureate. Ronsdale press. ISBN 1-55380-014-1. The other half of his prize money went to Vancouver Foundation to fund public science education through Science World and the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST). A few colleagues were surprised by Mike's support for women - they could not remember him speaking at department meetings to support women in faculty position - but others accepted his rationale that he had always respected women as scientists and recognized that they encountered obstacles not faced by men. His first few doctoral students had been women, as were several of his most important collaborators. Behind the scenes, Mike supported women as candidates for teaching and research positions in his department, although gender parity was still a long way off.
  16. "Inspire by example". SCWIST. 2012-05-04.
  17. "Make Possible is a mentoring network to advance women in science and technology careers". SCWIST. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  18. "Disclosure of Grant and Contribution Awards". Government of Canada. 2013-06-17.
  19. Kristiansen, Cheryl (2015-06-04). "Attract and Retain Top Talent in STEM". HRVoice. Burnaby. Retrieved 2015-06-27. As part of the Government of Canada’s Status of Women Initiative to advance women in technology, The Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) has developed programs and resources to understand and address gender diversity.
  20. Weston, John (2013-10-16). "Supporting Project Aimed at Advancing Women in the Canadian Digital Economy" (Press release). Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  21. Mcilroy, Anne (2012-12-02). "Looking worldwide for the women Canada needs". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 2015-06-26. ”As the director of Immigrating Women in Science and Technology, a program offered by the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology, she helps recent arrivals build their networks, seek advice and share their common experiences. She wants to make it easier for female immigrants to land jobs in their fields. It is her way of giving back to her new country, which in the coming years will require increasing numbers of people trained in the STEM professions: science, technology, engineering and math.
  22. "Where the Money Goes" (PDF). Province of British Columbia. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  23. DeVoretz, Sacha (2011-06-18). "Highly educated female immigrants say Canada isn't on their side". Vancouver Observer. Retrieved 2015-06-26. In June, The Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) hosted an event at a local Vancouver pub to provide an opportunity for women in the sciences to exchange industry news and meet familiar faces. It helped women like Shrivastava learn about opportunities and offered a supportive place for the women to express their apprehensions.
  24. McCuaig, Amanda (2011-02-28). "Female scientists and engineers discuss rewards and challenges of their chosen career on International Women's Day" (PDF) (Press release). Vancouver: Science World. Retrieved 2015-06-26. XX Evening 2011, now in its 20th year, is named after the XX chromosome which determines the female gender. It was designed by the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology to help with their mission of promoting, encouraging, and empowering women and girls in science, engineering, and technology. This will be the event’s 11th year at Science World and is part of a long standing partnership between SCWIST and Science World.
  25. "CIHR Café Scientifique". Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  26. "Creating Connections 4.0". Simon Fraser University. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  27. "Women Engineers helping pre-landed Women Engineers through Online Pre-arrival Services". MOSAIC. 2015-02-28.
  28. "Gender Diverse Workplaces". APEGBC. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  29. Stukas, Anna (2012-10-09). "Time for women to explore new career horizons". The Vancouver Sun. ProQuest 1095771252. Retrieved 2015-06-28. It wasn't until my first industry meeting that it started to dawn on me that perhaps there was something "odd" about my choice of profession. When I walked into the room, everyone turned to stare at me-it took me a few moments to realize that I was the only woman there. Shortly after, I joined the board of the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST), looking for a support system of people who had experienced the same thing.
  30. "SCWIST team". Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  31. Smith, Charlie (2012-08-20). "Chinese Canadian National Council applauds Bank of Canada's apology". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  32. "Status of Women Committee on Nov. 18th, 2014". openparliament.ca. 2014-11-18. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
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