“I would give the same advice to women and men: that they need to know inside themselves what they really like to do. If what they really like to do is science, they should just go for it and try their best. It’s not easy, they have to work hard, but if that’s what you want to do then just go for it.”

“In my opinion, if there are more educators in STEM helping youth see beyond theories and grades, helping them build their confidence and appreciation for the sciences and discover the impact they could have, the future landscape will be very different.”

“Throughout my career I have had strong and gifted female mentors who have supported my dream, often on a voluntary basis. It has made the world of difference to me to be made aware of opportunities and be shown the ins and outs of running and growing a business by women who have done it successfully. I think leaders of today can increase participation of women in STEM by leading by example, and offering time and resources to aid and inspire other women to cultivate, practise and master competencies.”

“Engineering is fundamentally about practical problem-solving to improve quality of life and strengthen our economy. Technology today requires end-to-end solutions, which would mean input from both men and women. In general, a lack of women with the right technical skill sets has created great challenges for industry. Academia has recognized that a concerted effort to attract women to study in STEM fields is crucial to moving the dial and addressing the acute shortage.”

“To better increase the participation of girls and women in STEM, Canada as a society must increase exposure of leading females on STEM career paths. An often unaddressed reason for the presence of a gender gap comes from the harmful ‘token woman in the boardroom’ narrative, in which the system makes one feel as though there is only room for a select few women in the profession. This can cause girls pursuing these male-dominated fields to view other women as competition, rather than teammates. It is important to foster a sisterhood within STEM, and that female leaders use their position to advocate for other women.”

“I believe leaders in the field need to talk about STEM from a holistic standpoint. Being a ‘woman in STEM’ is not one particular profile. It is broad and diverse, and each person brings their unique perspective, passion and experiences. That’s where interesting discoveries are born. … Lastly, men need to be part of the discussion. Today, men are still much more likely to hold leadership positions and be in the public eye. We need forward-thinking, open-minded men to help push the conversation forward.

“I learned about imposter syndrome at the Grace Hopper Celebration, the largest annual event for women in computing, and that was a real ‘aha’ moment regarding all my insecurities and constant sense that I was not good enough to be doing what I was doing, and that I was just clever enough to trick everyone into thinking the opposite. Turns out almost everyone feels that way. That was really helpful to start dealing with not listening to that voice and trusting myself.”

“I grew up in India in the eighties. My dad was an engineer and my mom a homemaker. I really admired my father’s technical know-how and problem-solving skills, and my mother’s artistic creativity. My dad’s journey inspired me to become a software engineer.

“‘Engineers are boys.’ What would you do if your four-year-old daughter said this to you? As a woman in tech, a person of colour, a first-gen immigrant, a mother of two, I just had to do something to bust that bias for kids.

“We are struggling with diversity in tech – the female population in the world is about 50 per cent but we have less than 25 per cent women in the tech work force. When women are not represented in the decision-making or the innovation process, we do not end up designing/building inclusive products for the world that reflect the real needs and challenges of the users.”

“I grew up in a very small coastal village in South India, where the community didn’t believe in higher education and careers for women in general. My father used to work in a bookstore – he loved reading, especially National Geographic magazine. It is those books he read in his free time that showed him the world for us girls beyond his village. I was 15, the perfect age according to my community to keep me at home and train me on household work and get me married off. This was the norm, so I never imagined that I would continue my education, let alone have a career in anti-money-laundering technology for a bank in Canada. … Girls are naturally creative thinkers. I hope girls see a career in STEM as a positive thing and start pursuing it.”

“For me, it starts with education. We have to encourage young women that STEM is not off-limits to them just because of their gender and that STEM fields aren’t male-only. I think sometimes the contributions of women in STEM historically aren’t recognized until after they have left this world, or not at all.”

“It was a tough decision to go into biology and research since I’m always asked questions like, ‘So what are your career opportunities? Will you be a doctor? Are there jobs in that field?’ I keep thinking to myself every now and then if I made the right decision, but every time I step into my lab, I know I did!”

“Involvement in STEM is a life-long opportunity. Having teachers, parents and other role models in children’s lives to support and encourage curiosity in math, science, tech and engineering in young women is key to increasing participation. My own relationship with STEM was a rocky one until late in university, and by then, I’d started to distance myself. My interest in tech, logistics and problem-solving luckily kept me overlapping with STEM enough that I didn’t miss out, but I easily could have, and that’s a sad scenario I don’t like to think about.”

“If you don’t know an opportunity exists, it’s unlikely you will aspire to go where no woman has gone before you. I know first-hand about the elements of loneliness in being the first and only. That being said, beautiful things happen when we share our stories. I encourage female leaders to be more loud and proud about their achievements in STEM.”

“The big problem is not getting girls into STEM, it’s keeping women there. We know in the biomedical sciences that women are approximately equally represented at the undergraduate and graduate levels, but then their numbers fall. My area of research, biochemistry, is very male-dominated, and it’s really important for women to see people who look like them at the front of the classroom and in the laboratory. As [activist] Marian Wright Edelman said, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ I think as students see more women in leadership positions, in particular women balancing families with their teaching and research, that they will see a way forward for themselves.”

"In high school, I participated in a program which aimed at getting more underrepresented minorities interested in engineering and science. While the course work was extremely challenging, it exposed me to different people who worked in STEM careers and highlighted many different jobs I didn’t even know existed. Broadening access to information about future career paths at a young age was critical for me, given that no family, friends or people in my communities worked in STEM fields. Without that exposure that I received at the right time, I wouldn’t have followed the path of chemical engineering or the subsequent career choices that led me to where I am today.

“Women leaders have a very important role in exposing young people to a wider variety of career paths. When girls don’t have family or people in their communities that work in those fields (or the women don’t), they are blind to those possibilities and more likely to opt out of STEM majors, which can sometimes seem intimidating. Participation can increase when women see and meet other women who look like them and have not only taken those journeys but succeeded.”

“One of my biggest lessons learned over the last few years is related to success and how failure has shifted my perception of success. I have come to appreciate that success is not necessarily the “climb the ladder” vertical movement I always thought it was. My success has been very lateral, extending into different disciplines with opportunities to give back to others. It is so important to recognize that success does not look the same for everyone. We should always be willing to help support someone else’s definition of success as they strive to reach their goals.

“It is also vital to remember that there are many girls who are already interested in STEM – we do not necessarily need to inspire an interest in STEM, but rather ensure that their passion for STEM is not eroded away by external barriers. On the other hand, we also need to consider that not all young people have access/exposure to STEM at an early age (this assumes some level of privilege). We need to support all avenues to help change the ratio: exposure, retention, recruitment, promotion.”

“There are many occasions that I walk into a room (for a meeting, a conference, a presentation session) filled with white males. This could be intimidating for a woman to speak up and express her opinion. Besides the fact that the number of women in STEM roles is less than men, there are even fewer women in decision-making roles. Structural barriers, social constructs, stereotyping are among the reasons behind this gap. STEM fields are crucial; they enable us to find solutions posed by global challenges such as climate change, global health epidemics and increased income inequality. There are many benefits – economic and social – associated with getting more women engaged in the STEM fields to bring interesting ideas to life from the perspective of a woman.”

“I knew that I wanted to go to graduate school and continue my career in astronomy, but I had a difficult time deciding which programs to apply to. There were several great programs, but I did not know if I would feel safe or comfortable living in some places as a queer woman. I’ve been fortunate to grow up and live in Canadian cities with great LGBTQ+ communities, and it’s so easy to take that for granted. When I move for the next stage of my career after finishing my PhD, there are places in the world that aren’t safe or smart choices for me. I’ve had many people dismiss me, but I need to know that I can have legal rights with a partner and that we can raise a family together.

“Canadian leadership in STEM still has a lot of room for growth and improvement. It’s still largely white and male and that’s not going to change if institutions aren’t held accountable. Initiatives to encourage children and youth to pursue their passions in STEM are wonderful, but they will fall flat if more action isn’t taken at higher levels in STEM careers. Women, LGBTQ+ folk and people of colour are already here. We need diverse teams to tackle harder questions and challenges, but that can’t happen if people are being pushed out along the way.”