Being a P.Eng or a Professional Engineer comes with the expectation of providing a service. The most obvious form of service, is that to one's employer or client(s), but that is not the full meaning of professional service.
Service for a professional usually includes participation in professional societies. Elsie was a strong supporter of that and advocated that her fellow engineers should do more than the bear minimum of just joining a society and paying dues. She believed that they should also consider looking for organizations and societies that would broadened their ideas and points of view, and that reached out in to society at large. From her perspective, this would allow engineers to contribute their knowledge and expertise to the larger population, while at the same time offering untold benefits to the individuals willing to stretch themselves.
Elsie led by example. When she joined an organization she fully engaged with it. She committed herself to being present at meetings, serving on committees and taking leadership roles. Even later in her life, when she had held many key leadership positions, she was always willing to what needed doing - even if that meant taking minutes at the meeting.
Elsie knew that engineers could contribute a lot to society because of their knowledge and experience with rapidly changing technologies. She was interested in the possibilities and opportunities of what we now often refer to as knowledge mobilization or knowledge translation.
Regardless of whether you are en engineer, is there an area in your professional life where you can stretch yourself a little this week?
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Happy International Women's Day!
Today is International Women's Day! It is a great day to stop and reflect about all that women have achieved throughout the world and within Canada. Some of the key highlights in the 20th century for Canada include:
http://www.womenofaviationweek.org/about/
This year also marks 40 years since the UN encouraged the celebration of women through International Women's Year or IWY in 1975. When IWY was declared Elsie MacGill was very excited and she participated in many different ways. She joined a Canadian speaker's bureau set-up to celebrate the year, she wrote articles about women in engineering and she undertook special projects to celebrate, promote and help women.
As always, Elsie's promotion of women was done with men in mind. As an engineer, she new that to really achieve anything significant teamwork was necessary and she was living proof that men and women could work together to achieve joint goals and objectives.
As she noted:
"And give men a break. Don't keep them on the outside. Let them join us in our projects to help other women." (p.195 Queen of the Hurricanes)
Happy International Women's Day! Let the important women in your life know that you appreciate them, and share the celebration with the important men in your life too!
Cheers!
Crystal
- Fighting for and winning the right to vote
- The Famous Five's battle for Canadian women to be known as "persons"
- Taking active roles in politics
- Stepping up in a wide and diverse range of leadership positions
- Working together to obtain a Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada
- Creating a wide range of women's studies courses at universities
- Advocating for women to take up non-traditional professions such as engineering
http://www.womenofaviationweek.org/about/
This year also marks 40 years since the UN encouraged the celebration of women through International Women's Year or IWY in 1975. When IWY was declared Elsie MacGill was very excited and she participated in many different ways. She joined a Canadian speaker's bureau set-up to celebrate the year, she wrote articles about women in engineering and she undertook special projects to celebrate, promote and help women.
As always, Elsie's promotion of women was done with men in mind. As an engineer, she new that to really achieve anything significant teamwork was necessary and she was living proof that men and women could work together to achieve joint goals and objectives.
As she noted:
"And give men a break. Don't keep them on the outside. Let them join us in our projects to help other women." (p.195 Queen of the Hurricanes)
Happy International Women's Day! Let the important women in your life know that you appreciate them, and share the celebration with the important men in your life too!
Cheers!
Crystal
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Canada's First Practicing Woman Engineer
Elsie Gregory MacGill was Canada's first woman to practice engineering. What does that mean? Essentially it means that she studied earned her necessary degrees in engineering (in her case electrical and then aeronautical) and then opted to work in her field as an engineer. However, as engineering is a profession, she had to comply with the expectations of that profession. In addition to finding a job and performing it to the best of her ability, she needed to be licensed within the area in which she was working.
As a result, Elsie had to seek approval from the provincial licensing bodies such as the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) in order to work. These bodies are regulatory in nature and ensure that all their members are upholding their codes of excellence and ethics.
For Elsie however, being an engineer was about more than finding work and ensuring she complied with the expectations of the regulatory bodies, she sought to fully engage with the profession. As a result, she sought membership in various engineering organizations and societies, and once she gained access to these organizations she fully committed herself as a member.
The Engineering Institute of Canada or EIC featured prominently in Elsie's life. She was the first woman to be accorded membership in 1938 and she dedicated a larger amount of her time to this organization and served in many leadership roles within it.
For more information about PEO see: http://www.peo.on.ca/
For more information on the EIC see: http://www.eic-ici.ca/
Stay tuned for more of Elsie's professional journey!
As a result, Elsie had to seek approval from the provincial licensing bodies such as the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) in order to work. These bodies are regulatory in nature and ensure that all their members are upholding their codes of excellence and ethics.
For Elsie however, being an engineer was about more than finding work and ensuring she complied with the expectations of the regulatory bodies, she sought to fully engage with the profession. As a result, she sought membership in various engineering organizations and societies, and once she gained access to these organizations she fully committed herself as a member.
The Engineering Institute of Canada or EIC featured prominently in Elsie's life. She was the first woman to be accorded membership in 1938 and she dedicated a larger amount of her time to this organization and served in many leadership roles within it.
For more information about PEO see: http://www.peo.on.ca/
For more information on the EIC see: http://www.eic-ici.ca/
Stay tuned for more of Elsie's professional journey!
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Celebrate National Engineering Month!
March is National Engineering Month in Canada. It is a great time to stop and ask just where would be be without engineers. If we really stop and think about it, and learn all we can about the incredible diversity of the engineering profession we would quickly realize that many aspects of our daily lives have been developed by or are still dependent on the important work engineers do!
Engineering is an incredible diverse field. For example there are:
I would also recommend you check out #30in30 to learn about incredible woman engineers all throughout the month of March!
As Elsie Gregory MacGill was the first woman to practice engineering in Canada, I will be highlighting some of her key engineering achievements throughout the months of March.
Stay tuned!
Engineering is an incredible diverse field. For example there are:
- electrical engineers
- civil engineers
- geological engineers
- environmental engineers
- aerospace engineers
- mining engineers
I would also recommend you check out #30in30 to learn about incredible woman engineers all throughout the month of March!
As Elsie Gregory MacGill was the first woman to practice engineering in Canada, I will be highlighting some of her key engineering achievements throughout the months of March.
Stay tuned!
Monday, February 16, 2015
A Commission Worth Fighting For - 48 Years and Counting!
On February 16, 1967 Canadian women's groups across the country won a significant victory, the right to have an inquiry into the status of women in Canada. Today this idea may seem very strange to most people - after all why would women have to win this right? Why would women across the country want an official check on their status within the country? We are talking about the 20th century right?
What many people fail to realize is that there were many areas of Canadian society that were not very open to women at this period. One of the best examples is that in many cases if a woman wanted to make a large purchase at a store she needed her husband's permission in advance. Women may have received the vote in most provinces before the 1920s and the right to be known legally as "persons" in 1929, but there were many areas where women were not treated equally.
As a result, women's groups started to call for a Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. This idea was one that was catching on in many other countries around the world - as more and more women wanted to really know the full extent of their status in society and from that base their advocacy for change.
The name Laura Sabia became tied forever to the Canadian fight for this inquiry when she told a Globe & Mail reporter that women would be willing to fight and even march on Parliament Hill if needed to get a commission started. The next day Sabia's words made front page news in the Globe & Mail and shortly there after on February 16, 1967 a Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada was announced by the Pearson Administration.
One of the reason's royal commissions are important is that they focus attention on an important topic in order to further investigate it and make recommendations for change. Commissioners are selected from across the country to work with a team of administrators who will conduct interviews, ask for public input, conduct public consultations. This work is backed up by research and data collection. The commissioners then work to synthesize all the data and come up with concrete recommendations for change.
Elsie Gregory MacGill was selected as a Commissioner on the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. She recognized the importance of this role immediately and she was determined to commit herself to the project fully - as she new that it could lead to important changes for Canadians. As she noted herself:
"It is possible that the effects of this Commission will reach further than people think. When considering the status of women, it is important to realize that for both men and women technology is rapidly changing the existing Canadian patterns of employment, full-time and part-time work - and leisure, too - and the social and economic values upon which status is based. Insight gained there could drastically change Canada's social philosophy"
(Page 147 Sissons 2014)
Read more about the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada in Queen of the Hurricanes: The Fearless Elsie MacGill.
What many people fail to realize is that there were many areas of Canadian society that were not very open to women at this period. One of the best examples is that in many cases if a woman wanted to make a large purchase at a store she needed her husband's permission in advance. Women may have received the vote in most provinces before the 1920s and the right to be known legally as "persons" in 1929, but there were many areas where women were not treated equally.
As a result, women's groups started to call for a Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. This idea was one that was catching on in many other countries around the world - as more and more women wanted to really know the full extent of their status in society and from that base their advocacy for change.
The name Laura Sabia became tied forever to the Canadian fight for this inquiry when she told a Globe & Mail reporter that women would be willing to fight and even march on Parliament Hill if needed to get a commission started. The next day Sabia's words made front page news in the Globe & Mail and shortly there after on February 16, 1967 a Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada was announced by the Pearson Administration.
One of the reason's royal commissions are important is that they focus attention on an important topic in order to further investigate it and make recommendations for change. Commissioners are selected from across the country to work with a team of administrators who will conduct interviews, ask for public input, conduct public consultations. This work is backed up by research and data collection. The commissioners then work to synthesize all the data and come up with concrete recommendations for change.
Elsie Gregory MacGill was selected as a Commissioner on the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. She recognized the importance of this role immediately and she was determined to commit herself to the project fully - as she new that it could lead to important changes for Canadians. As she noted herself:
"It is possible that the effects of this Commission will reach further than people think. When considering the status of women, it is important to realize that for both men and women technology is rapidly changing the existing Canadian patterns of employment, full-time and part-time work - and leisure, too - and the social and economic values upon which status is based. Insight gained there could drastically change Canada's social philosophy"
(Page 147 Sissons 2014)
Read more about the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada in Queen of the Hurricanes: The Fearless Elsie MacGill.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
January just fly by!
It seems like the New Year only started, and yet here we are and it is February 4th already! When I stop and think about all that happened during January 2015 it is a bit of whirlwind to be sure!
It was wonderful to work on the documentary filming with April Butler for the Calgary Mosquito Society ( http://www.calgarymosquitosociety.com/home.htm), and I look forward to hearing more about their work on the Hawker Hurricane. As soon as I have more information I will pass it along!
I had a chance to share Elsie's story two more times during the month - once with my colleagues and just this past weekend at Vintage Wings at the Gatineau Airport. If you have never seen the vintage aircraft there, which is airworthy, it is really worth seeing! For more information see: http://www.vintagewings.ca/
I had a wonderful time learning about the planes, seeing the functioning Hawker Hurricane and the initial work on a second one. It was incredible to see just the wood frame completed. One of the next steps will be to sew the cloth covering onto the wood. That's right - planes have not always been all-metal in their construction.
Thank you to everyone who has been able to come out to the book launches. Your support means a lot! I look forward to continued reasons to share Elsie's story as the year progresses!
It was wonderful to work on the documentary filming with April Butler for the Calgary Mosquito Society ( http://www.calgarymosquitosociety.com/home.htm), and I look forward to hearing more about their work on the Hawker Hurricane. As soon as I have more information I will pass it along!
I had a chance to share Elsie's story two more times during the month - once with my colleagues and just this past weekend at Vintage Wings at the Gatineau Airport. If you have never seen the vintage aircraft there, which is airworthy, it is really worth seeing! For more information see: http://www.vintagewings.ca/
I had a wonderful time learning about the planes, seeing the functioning Hawker Hurricane and the initial work on a second one. It was incredible to see just the wood frame completed. One of the next steps will be to sew the cloth covering onto the wood. That's right - planes have not always been all-metal in their construction.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Flying into the New Year!
Happy New Year! I hope that everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and is looking forward to the new possibilities that 2015 brings! The year is already flying along - no pun intended - really! On January 11th, 2015 I had a wonderful opportunity to work with April Butler from Pan Productions. She conducted a video interview with me for a documentary on Hawker Hurricanes. Elsie's role in their production during the Second World War was of interest and her activities afterwards in engineering and feminism.
The following day I was able to share Elsie's story with my some of my colleagues at work. It was wonderful to share it with them as I have often spoken of the work with a number of them.
I am also looking forward to a new opportunity. At the end of the month I will be at Vintage Wings Canada at the Gatineau Airport for a presentation and book signing from 1pm-3pm! This is an excellent opportunity to learn about vintage aircraft and hear about Elsie if you are interested. I would also encourage you to check out their website for more information: http://www.vintagewings.ca/
Here is hoping that you have a wonderful year and that you always have unlimited horizons in all you do!
The following day I was able to share Elsie's story with my some of my colleagues at work. It was wonderful to share it with them as I have often spoken of the work with a number of them.
I am also looking forward to a new opportunity. At the end of the month I will be at Vintage Wings Canada at the Gatineau Airport for a presentation and book signing from 1pm-3pm! This is an excellent opportunity to learn about vintage aircraft and hear about Elsie if you are interested. I would also encourage you to check out their website for more information: http://www.vintagewings.ca/
Here is hoping that you have a wonderful year and that you always have unlimited horizons in all you do!
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