Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology Empowering

Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology Empowering and Supporting Women in Science since 1981 SCWIST Newsletter April 2008 Message from the President Welcome to the Spring 2008 edition of the SCWIST newsletter! I would like to begin by acknowledging that it is an honour and distinct pleasure to serve this organisation of talented women. From the day I joined SCWIST several years ago, I appreciated its unique place among women’s organisations. We respect the legacy of SCWIST and therefore are committed to meeting the changing needs of our members. In 2007 we took a big step forward towards solidifying our strategic direction for future generations through board governance development. We plan to continue to expand our relevance in the future by holding strategic planning meetings in 2008. SCWIST was proud to recently co-sponsor an insightful event relating to women’s health. Health activist Judy Norsigian was in Vancouver to talk about the global reach of the now classic book on women’s health, Our Bodies, Ourselves. Dr. Joy Johnson, Director of the Institute of Gender and Health (CIHR) opened the evening with a discussion on the advances in women’s health research in Canada. The evening was attended by participants in Vancouver as well as via webcast and was a huge success! As always, whether you are associated with a university, industry, or are a member of the community, we invite you to join us at our inspirational SCWIST-related events. Suzanne Ferenczi, 2007/2008 President of SCWIST 471—411 Dunsmuir Street Vancouver BC V6B 1X4 t. 604.893.8657 f. 604.893.8692 Inside this issue: President’s message Congrats and Thanks Programme Updates Save the Date! The 2008 SCWIST AGM will be held the evening of Wednesday June 18th. Details to follow. Would you like to attend SCWIST events? Become a member today! Visit www.scwist.ca for more details. 1 2 3 3 4 5 Jade funding Is your membership about to expire? Renew before your expiration date and be eligible for prize draws at next year’s AGM. Contact scwist@sfu.ca. XX Evening Scientist in Residence Programme Fundraising Lunch Contact Us 6 7 Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology Empowering and Supporting Women in Science since 1981 UBC provides child care — Perveen Biln As a graduate student, I recognise that attending workshops, seminars, and conferences is an integral part of the training process, however as a mother I find it difficult to balance the requirements of attendance with the realities of child-rearing. Many seminars are held in the afternoons or after work which prove difficult to attend while weekend workshops are nearly impossible to attend when considering the constraints of childcare. I have been fortunate enough to acquire a full-time space in a quality childcare centre, however, like 95% of daycare centres it is only open during "regular" working hours on weekdays. Daycare centres do not have the flexibility to meet the needs of students or shift-workers who often work odd hours. UBC has recognised that childcare is a major barrier to women attending important workshops, which facilitate the building of leadership skills and professional networks, and now provides childcare at graduate mentorship workshops. Congratulations SCWISWT member Anja Lanz - Winner of the UBC Faculty of Science Achievement Award for Service Anja Lanz, an Engineering Physics undergraduate student at UBC, has been very active with women in engineering groups both on and off campus and will be graduating in May 2009. She was one of the earliest members of WIE@UBC – Women in Engineering at UBC (wie.apsc.ubc.ca) (Formerly NEW@UBC – Networking Engineering Women at UBC) and has also started and maintained the Women in Engineering Physics Recruitment and Network (http://www.engphys.ubc.ca/ women.html) together with the Engineering Physics program director, Dr. Andre Marziali. They have received JADE Bridges Funding for this project two years in a row. Anja, together with her faculty advisor, Dr. Elizabeth Croft, also chaired the Building Communities Symposium which was a grass-roots, first-ever event bringing together 120 women in engineering in British Columbia on September 15 and 16, 2007 for a two-day event of networking and professional development workshops at the Loon Lake Retreat in Maple Ridge (www.mech.ubc.ca/~wesymposium). Her latest project is organising social and professional development gatherings with the Women in Engineering (Vancouver Region) group – WIE (VR) – (www.sfu.ca/~mlahaye/wie_vr.html). Anja is a proud member of several women’s organisations in Vancouver and supports SCWIST events and workshops. In the upcoming year, she will be a mentor for the women in leadership foundation (www.womeninleadership.ca) and is also active with the Vancouver Board of Trade (www.boardoftrade.com). She has been recognized by The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC) (www.apeg.bc.ca) with a Student Scholarship for her work on the advancement of the profession. Anja is enthusiastic about projects that involve helping others and supporting important causes. She can be reached at anjalanz@interchange.ubc.ca THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS! A big thanks to some AMAZING volunteers: Seedlings Studio continues to donate its services providing web support for the new site. www.SeedlingsStudio.com Michelle La Haye compiles all of the BrownBag data each month so that we can post concise minutes on the website. Queenie Chan is coordinating the BrownBag series for us this year. Thanks to Natalie Tam, Mehtab Sekhon, Nancy Thorogood and Hisae Nakamura for assisting at this year’s XX Evening at Science World. Rachel Timmins who has been working on developing the BrownBag series for next year. Gulnur Birol, Anja Lanz, Mya Warren and Justine Karst for assisting at this year’s JADE workshops. Conny Hoehr for compiling a document we can use to recruit volunteers with specific skill sets that we require. Membership lapsed? Renew online today so that we can continue to provide quality programs! Visit www.scwist.ca SCWIST Quarterly News—April 2008 Page 2 Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology Empowering and Supporting Women in Science since 1981 IWIS update ms infinity update Canada’s National Volunteer Week is April 27th – May 2nd making this the ideal time to recognise our wonderful volunteers. It is completely astonishing the level of programming that is achieved because of them. Without our volunteers, the ms infinity program would be just another great idea, rather than being truly effective. SCWIST’s educational outreach program has had a few different names since it began in 1990 (Girls do Math, Project Tomorrow, ms infinity) but the program has always stayed true to its mandate to encourage girls and young women to pursue SETT careers. Over the years more than 73 ms infinity events have taken place and almost 7000 girls have attended those events - all because of our volunteers. Last year ms infinity volunteers contributed 1384 hours of their time to deliver workshops! Those volunteer hours averaged out over the course of the year amount to 26.6 hours/week, which is more than the current ms infinity coordinator. This is staggering. This level of commitment and active participation loudly proclaims the greatest strength of ms infinity: our volunteers. SCWIST’s ms infinity programme would not be possible without our volunteers. Volunteers speak at schools about their careers, lead hands-on science activities, help Girl Guides earn badges, mentor young women in high school, and do so much more. A few of our current volunteers who attended a ms infinity event in their youth are now giving back to the programme. They credit ms infinity with providing the role models they needed to continue studying math and science. We recognise the value of our volunteers and are continually seeking ways to improve volunteer recognition. A recent consultation on volunteer management has sparked some ideas which will be implemented during National Volunteer Week. The ms infinity programme will be providing volunteers with an electronic newsletter highlighting accomplishments, future events and workshop ideas. We are also working on a ms infinity Facebook page which will be another resource for our volunteers to utilise. This year we hope to revise our conference manual to better equip our volunteer community coordinators for planning ms infinity events. Our volunteers are important and ms infinity is committed to supporting them. We are also very thankful for our strong partnerships with NSERC, Let’s Talk Science, Genome BC, Science World, Science Fair Foundation of BC, Girl Guides of BC, and the various Science, Technology and Innovation Councils of BC. There are so many people who contribute to the success of ms infinity! A most sincere “thank you” from us to you. If you are interested in volunteering with ms infinity there are a variety of opportunities and resources available. Please contact msoo@sfu.ca. Have you thought about mentoring? If you are interested in being paired with a scientific woman who has immigrated to Canada to share your experiences and expertise regarding your line of work, please contact iwis2@sfu.ca for further details. SCWIST, Jade and SFU partner to bring workshops for graduate students SCWIST is once again proud to partner with Simon Fraser University and the Jade Bridges Programme to hold the 2008-9 workshops series “Bridging Transitions: Transitioning with Confidence”. Offering development in networking, career planning and goal-evaluation skills to science graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, these workshops target women in physics, computer science, and engineering. The women receive training in skills that will support their transitions as they advance in academia or transfer to other sectors. For the third year running, “Bridging Transitions” has been successful in obtaining funding from the Jade Project – Jade Bridges Programme http:// www.jadeproject.ca/bridges.html. Jade connects women in science and engineering across BC, the Yukon, and beyond. SCWIST members Elana Brief, Oanh Dang, Kim Hellemans and Karen Kavanagh, with support from our SCWIST coordinator, have created an exciting new series for the upcoming year. Sessions will include workshops on the importance of transition in scientific women’s lives, facilitated by moderator Sally Halliday, an HR workshop, and an alternative careers workshop and networking evening. Look for news of the 2098-9 series on the SCWIST website and e-bulletin in the summer. SCWIST Quarterly News—April 2008 Page 3 Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology Empowering and Supporting Women in Science since 1981 XX Evening Our sincere thanks to Sandy Eix and her team at Telus World of Science for hosting this very successful event for us again this year! As well, we’d like to thank the following companies who generously donated door prizes for the event! The BC Gaming Commission generously supports SCWIST and IWIS. SCWIST Quarterly News—April 2008 Page 4 Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology Empowering and Supporting Women in Science since 1981 Scientist in Residence Program, Vancouver School Board — Paige Axelrood A teacher involved with the Scientist in Residence Program recently said, “Having a scientist come to the classroom is a gift!” The program strives to get children hooked on science at a young age and it appears to be succeeding. The Scientist in Residence Program, now in its 4th year, provides opportunities for scientists to share their knowledge and their passion for science with elementary school teachers and their students (K-7). This program encourages children to do real science. They conduct experiments, explore, think critically and delve into the issues challenging our society. Students have tackled questions related to ecosystems, plant and animal life, forest sustainability, marine pollution and climate change. The partnerships that develop between teachers and scientists are the foundation of this program. Each teaching team creates and delivers six or more hands-on science lessons on a specific theme that fits with the BC Ministry of Education’s guidelines for science. The lesson plans—together with the enthusiastic students' quest to know more and the experiences gained by elementary school teachers—are the legacies of the program. The lessons are available at www.vsb.bc.ca/ vsbprograms/kto12/ScientistinResidence.htm This year, the program is being delivered in nine elementary schools in Vancouver and one elementary school in West Vancouver. In each school, one scientist in residence is working with two teachers and their classes of students. Scientists and teachers are matched based on their common interests in science. Science materials and funding for a field trip are covered by the program. The scientists each receive a $3,000 honorarium to acknowledge their time commitment. The Scientist in Residence Program is supported by the Vancouver School Board and generous donations from the Vancouver Foundation, Rix Family Foundation, Derek Spratt through the BC Technology Foundation, Fisher Foundation, the CIBC Wood Gundy "Caring For Kids" Fund Committee and Miracle Day, RBC Foundation, NSERC-Pacific, BC Transmission Corporation, Paige Axelrood and Ned Glick, Sara Harris, and the West Vancouver School District (for participation of Irwin Park Elementary School this year). People involved in the program are focusing this year on the program’s financial sustainability. We welcome your ideas on how we can reach this goal. In addition, we are now creating a database of scientists and engineers who are interested in participating in the program during the 2008-2009 school year or thereafter. Do you have a passion for teaching hands-on science and sparking excitement about science? And, are you nearing completion of a graduate science degree or do you have a M.Sc. or Ph.D. degree? This could be a wonderful opportunity for you. Contact Paige Axelrood, founder and manager of the Scientist in Residence Program, to learn more about the program, offer fundraising ideas or apply for a scientist in residence position (paxelrood@shaw.ca). SCWIST Quarterly News—April 2008 Page 5 Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology Empowering and Supporting Women in Science since 1981 Celebrating Malgorzata Dubiel and SCWIST SCWIST has always brought women together to share and celebrate the achievements of women in science and technology. On Friday March 7th, twenty women including founding, current, and future members of SCWIST met for lunch at Simon Fraser University. Hiromi Matsui (President 1997-99), with generous support from the Dean of Applied Sciences, hosted the event to celebrate the achievements of SCWIST and, in particular, to congratulate Malgorzata Dubiel, Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, SFU, for her recent 3M National Teaching Award from 3M and the Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. As introductions were made around the table, and the women spoke about themselves and shared their experiences of “getting involved with SCWIST”, it became evident to founding members Hilda Ching (President 1984-86, 199495), Diana Herbst (President 1987-88), and Mary Vickers (President 1981-83) that although times have changed since the inception of SCWIST in 1981, similar challenges remain for women in science and technology. Margo Moore, Professor, Biological Sciences, SFU, recently participated in the Scientist in Schools program (created by SCWIST member Paige Axelrood—see page 5) . As she entered the classroom to give a presentation on her research she heard a young girl say, “Oh no! They didn’t send a real scientist.” Sarah Dench, Director, University Curriculum, SFU, shared how she had heard one child at her daughter’s daycare tell another girl “ you can’t be a doctor.” Both these instances demonstrate the continuing importance of SCWIST programs such as ms infinity, which exposes young women to interesting and exciting career options and positive female role models. Kim Hellemans, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC who recently joined the SCWIST Board of Directors, shared her reasons for volunteering with SCWIST. After recently moving to Vancouver to be closer to her partner, and feeling overwhelmed with the transitions of a new job, new city, and new personal challenges, she attended a SCWIST workshop titled “Can I have a career and a personal life?” It was immediately apparent that the connection with all the other women attending the workshop was something that was both personally and professionally fulfilling. Since then, she has worked to encourage other women in science to make these connections – to reduce the isolation of being a woman in science - through her involvement with the BrownBag lunches (see http:// www.scwist.ca/index.php/main/news/category/BrownBags/ ). Recalling how she called a Faculty Dean over a hiring decision involving a woman, Hilda Ching reminded us to not stand for any injustice; get on the phone, write a letter - one person CAN make a difference. SCWIST would like to extend thanks to all the members who attended the luncheon who raised $218.75 towards our programs and to the Dean of Applied Sciences at SFU, for supporting the event. If you are interested in holding a similar lunch at your institution please contact scwist@sfu.ca Sara Dench, Julia Vaughan, Pat Nickel, Sara Swenson, Hiromi Matsui, Joan Sharp, Malgorzata Dubiel, Diana Herbst Malgorzata Dubiel, Diana Herbst, Evelyn Palmer, Mary Vickers Want to get more involved? Volunteer at SCWIST! Contact scwist@sfu.ca for details. SCWIST Quarterly News—April 2008 No time to volunteer? You can still support SCWIST: Donate online (and receive a tax receipt) Page 6 Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology Empowering and Supporting Women in Science since 1981 SCWIST Member Benefits Who we are Are you getting all you can out of your SCWIST membership? • Workshops for women in The Society of Canadian Women in Science and Technology is a non-profit, voluntary association established in 1981 to promote, encourage and empower women working in science and technology. Our Mission Statement • To promote public awareness of the opportunities for science and technology (receive reduced rates for members) • Leadership opportunities in a supportive environment (telementor a girl interested in science, volunteer for a committee, offer an idea for an initiative or event) • News from our website women in science and technology by providing information and resources which aim to influence public policy and present positive messages about women’s achievements and potential in this area. • To encourage the full participation of girls and women in (post and learn about events of interest for women in science) • National communication all aspects of science and technology education, through the provision of programs and activities which are developed and implemented in partnership with relevant community members. • To increase the representation, retention and status of (contribute articles or ideas to the newsletter) SCWIST’s charitable status women in the science and technology workplace by providing networking and mentoring opportunities and advocating for women-friendly workplaces and education policies. Membership Fees SCWIST is a registered charity and issues tax receipts for all donations. We invite you to contact scwist@sfu.ca if you wish to make a gift to support our programs for girls and women. Fees can now be paid online through: http://www.scwist.ca Student/Retired/Unemployed Professional Sustaining (see panel) $20/year $60/year $100/year (including $40 tax receipt) Let us know what you think What’s the difference between a Sustaining and Professional Membership? A sustaining membership ($100) combines a professional membership ($60) and a $40 (tax-deductible) donation to SCWIST. Sustaining members truly sustain SCWIST by supporting the charitable programs we run. SCWIST Quarterly News—April 2008 SCWIST Resource Centre scwist@sfu.ca ms. infinity msoo@sfu.ca Immigrating Women in Science (IWIS) iwis2@sfu.ca 471—411 Dunsmuir Street Vancouver BC V6B 1X4 t. 604.893.8657 f. 604.893.8692 w. www.scwist.ca Page 7