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À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ's Women in Engineering committee will beÌýrecognized with this year's Status of Women and Equity Committee annual equity and inclusion award at a reception in the Davis Centre November 25.

The award recognizes a member or affiliate of the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ community whose actions have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to improving equity, inclusivity, and/or diversity at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ. À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ's Women in Engineering committee is chaired by Mary Wells,Ìýa mechanical and mechatronics engineering professor and the associate dean, outreach.

"The award reflects the culmination ofÌýthe committee's many years of work and the focus both the committee and the Faculty of Engineering have had on issues around women in engineering and ways to create a more diverse Faculty,"Ìýsays Wells who is the current chair of theÌýOntario Network of Women in Engineering.Ìý"It's also a celebration of the work À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Engineering has accomplished in terms ofÌýdiversity, andÌýpromoting, encouraging and supporting women in the Faculty."Ìý

IncreaseÌýin first year women students

The Women in Engineering committeeÌýwasÌýformed in 1991 and since then staff, faculty and students have been working to increase the participation of women in engineering. AndÌýthe results are apparent.ÌýÌý

"In the past few years we've gone from 16 per cent women in engineering in first year to 21 per cent," says Wells. "We've been building towards this over a number of years."ÌýÌý

WellsÌýattributes a number of initiatives to the increase in womenÌýin À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Engineering, including the Go Eng Girl program run across the country at schools offering engineering programs (held last month À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ's program was the largest in Ontario) and the Faculty's Catalyst girls' conference program.Ìý

Wells pointed out that government and company partnership programs are also helping contribute to the increase of women in engineering.

Last March, Hydro One announced a Women in Engineering University Partnership program that will help À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ and three other universities break down silos and work together to address the issues faced in attracting and retaining women Ìýin the engineering field. In September, Shell Canada made a new investment in À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Engineering through the Shell Campus Ambassador program. The program’sÌýdonationÌýfunds a number of extremely important student activities, includingÌýWomen in Engineering initiatives.Ìý