ISBN : 9782897997847
Year of publication : 2024
Nombre de pages : 424
Langue : Anglais
Click here to access the book in open access
What are the realities of women in engineering and other fields where women are largely in the minority? What satisfactions do women experience, what obstacles do they face? How can we attract women and girls to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and integrate and retain them once they've arrived?
The Realities of Women in Engineering: Joys, Challenges, and Solutions answers these questions by presenting the methods and results of an in-depth research project, one step at a time. The book 1) contextualizes the issues, reviews the literature, and explains the project's research methods; 2) synthesizes the project's findings on the joys and motivations - as well as the challenges and difficulties - experienced by each group of women interviewed (women working in engineering, including female engineering professors and engineering/STEM students); 3) reveals the findings that emerged from interviews with human resources specialists, Indigenous women, and women from immigrant backgrounds, including findings about equities and inequities experienced or perceived in the world of engineering and STEM; 4) exposes different perceptions of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), women's perceptions of their contribution to engineering, and the perspectives of men in engineering (to nuance the results); 5) offers strategies and solutions in education, business, and society, including mentorship; and 6) distills recommendations in two competency frameworks and a practical model.
The varied and complementary expertise of the project's co-researchers and their collaborators produces original and innovative reflections on the realities of women in STEM.
With the collaboration of Jennifer Petrela, Marie Eva Andriantsara, Jessica Bélisle, Cristina Guzman, Jessie Morin and Morgane Vandel
Diane Gagné, PhD (Industrial Relations, Université de Montréal), has had an atypical career. She is a full professor in the Department of Human Resources Management at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), specializing in labor relations and public employment policy. She was the first female petrochemical technician in the mid-90s. She is a member of the UQTR Board of Directors (since January 2022); member of the Board of Action travail des femmes (ATF); director of the UQTR School of Management (June 2021 to June 2023); director of graduate program committees (UQTR, since June 2023); co-chair of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) institutional committee (May 2020 to November 2023); co-founder and member of the UQTR feminist studies laboratory (since 2019) ; associate member of GRIMADD (Groupe de recherche intervention sur les minières en Afrique et le développement durable, since June 2020), which has been awarded a UNESCO Chair; member of the RéQEF research group (Réseau québécois en études féministes, since 2019); member of the GIREPS research group (Groupe interdisciplinaire et interuniversitaire de recherche sur l'emploi, la pauvreté et la protection sociale, since 2015); research member of the CRIMT research group (Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur la mondialisation et le travail, since 2014). Her teaching and research interests in relation to the situation of women are: feminist research and intersectionality; the difficult gender mix in employment; citizenship at work,systemic discrimination (EDI, equity, diversity, inclusion); precariousness of and in employment; the influences of public employment policies on systemic discrimination issues. She has several scientific publications to her credit in recent years, including as author or first author: Déconstruction du triptyque " préjugés, stéréotypes et idéologies " de quelques actions syndicales au Québec (2024, with Chloé Fortin-Bergeron) ; Femmes " opérateur " à technicienne en pétrochimie : qu'est-ce qui achoppe ? (2022); The polymorphic conception of systemic discrimination: unions between discourse and action in Quebec/L'illusion de l'égalité: conception polymorphique de l'action syndicale québécoise, entre discours et actions (2021/2022); Femmes " opérateur " 30 ans ont passés: quelles distances parcourues? Le cas du secteur de la pétrochimie, du raffinage et du Gaz au Québec (2019). In 2024, she co-authored the book Situation de femmes en ingénierie : plaisirs, défis et solutions (French, English, Spanish) and the research report Situations de femmes en ingénierie dans des secteurs où elles sont largement sous-représentées.
Louise Lafortune, Ph.D. (Sciences de l'éducation, enseignement des mathématiques), is Professor Emeritus and Associate of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) and Visiting Professor at the University of Holguín (Uhol, Cuba). She is co-founder of AFFESTIM (Association de la francophonie à propos des femmes en sciences, technologies, ingénierie et mathématiques) and has been a member of its Board of Directors since its foundation in 2003. Her research interests include the situation of women, the affective dimension of learning, sociopedagogical equity and intercultural pedagogy, and the situation of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). In particular, she is co-author of Enfoque de género para lograr más equidad (2019), Manifeste à propos des femmes en STIM (2022) and Femmes en situations professionnelles: expériences cubaines et canadiennes (2022). Four books are in preparation: Une approche d'équité sociopédagogique sensible à l'EDI (équité, diversité, inclusion) pour les domaines des MST (mathématiques, sciences et technologies) pour stimuler les filles, mais aussi les garçons, à s'orienter en STEM (2024); Perspectives sociopédagogiques pour une équité des femmes Cuba-Québec (2024); La situation de femmes en ingénierie? Pleasures, obstacles and solutions (2024); Co-construction in feminist partnership research. Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Lafortune
