Today marks International Women’s Day (IWD). Here at The Booth School, we have some truly exceptional women in engineering who are contributing towards the creation of a brighter world.
Meet some of the women faculty members of the School of Engineering Practice & Technology and learn about their inspirations and their thoughts on this year’s IWD theme: DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.
Marjan Alavi
This years International Women’s Day theme is: DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality, what does this mean to you?
Gender Equality to me means that growth opportunities and access to facilities and resources in a society are not affected by gender. Equality, diversity, and inclusion are essential for any sustainable society. Gender biases deprive society of accessing the best talents by filtering out specific genders. Discrimination has short-term and long-term harmful effects on each individual and society. Gender discrimination and its harmful effects pass from generation to generation and can result in avalanche breakdown in society. The “Women, Life, Freedom” revolution, which started in Iran in 2022, is an example of systematic discrimination against women in the past decades in Iran. Gender equality will result in social, economic, and political benefits and societal stability.
Do you have any role models or inspirations?
Engineering was and still is a male-dominant profession. Unfortunately, I did not have a female mentor in the field of Engineering when I was younger. I seldom had female professors or colleagues, and there was no female engineer in my family. When I joined IEEE Canada, I got connected to Dr. Maryam Davoudpour, who became my mentor and friend. She is now the first female Chair of the IEEE Toronto Section and an inspiration to me.
Hoda Kamel
What does this years International Women’s Day theme mean to you?
One of the biggest changes that is coming in the next few years is automation and AI. This requires enough training data to make sure that these algorithms do not have inherent bias in HR software for example, or in performance appraisal software. Understanding the potential for discrimination and bias in the new technology development is key to avoid falling into the trap of what the system told you to do. The only way to make sure that there is no bias is to have enough women in key technical positions who are working on these developments. Making your voice heard at every level of an organization and in all industries is important for future professionals. I would like to see more young women in STEM, especially in our Bachelor of Technology Program. I want to see them all working in high tech companies.
Do you have any role models or inspirations?
My late mother and father, may they both rest in peace- were my inspiration. They mentored my sister and I to be critical thinkers and pushed us both into STEM, telling us early on that STEM was the future. I also had a neighbour and friend who worked in the field of Atomic Energy. She had an Engineering degree and worked in Research but also set up multiple projects in her field. She was my inspiration in many ways. Whenever I had questions, I would reach out to her and we would talk about what she would have done. She ended up mentoring a large group of people and even planning for her succession in the place she works. She told me that we owe it to the younger generations to train them adequately and provide opportunities to them. She was kind but firm in her coaching technique. She would always tell the truth even if it meant that she was not siding with you. She gave me insights into balancing work and life and that there is a right time for everything.
Silvie Tanu Halim
What does this years International Women’s Day theme mean to you?
Innovation and Technology play a big part in the daily work that my colleagues and I do. We know women’s career journeys continue to be largely impacted by family commitments. As we continue to encourage women towards STEM careers – and keep pace with technological advances in the current workplace, it is important for me as an educator to help students develop those critical skills.
Do you have any role models or inspirations?
My sources of inspiration are always people whom I know personally. My main source of inspiration is my mother. Taking care of the family, raising 4 daughters and helping my father in his business – that is a lot of hard work and dedication. She always reminds my sisters and I that it is very important for a woman to have a source of income -and be financially independent. My first career mentor would be Elizabeth Tackas. She formerly worked as a Research Engineer within the Chemical Engineering department. She hired me as a Research Assistant for a summer job. She went above and beyond to mentor me – other than demonstrating how to operate lab equipment, she spent a lot of time guiding me for my benefit. She has since inspired me to do the same for all my Teaching Assistants.
