Make the Change: Attracting More Women to STEM Careers Boosts Diversity
Istuary Innovation Group helps lead talks on creating an inclusive tech workforce
VANCOUVER, CANADA, April 7, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Istuary Innovation Group has kicked off the first of a series of talks, Make the Change: Women in STEM, focused on creating opportunities and efforts to build a more diverse, inclusive workforce in Canada. The first talk, held yesterday, was in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, featuring leading academic Professor Elizabeth Croft, well known for increasing the percentage of female students entering first year engineering at UBC to 30 per cent from 20 per cent during her tenure as NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering.
Research presented by Professor Croft covering women in STEM professions indicates only 12 percent of hires in computing and engineering were women as of 2013.
“One of the biggest challenges for attracting women, in my experience, is in building their confidence,” said Professor Elizabeth Croft, Associate Dean for Education and Professional Development, University of British Columbia. “This can be done by creating a welcoming environment and addressing their feelings of ‘imposteritis,’ that is, feeling like an imposter no matter how successful or established one is.”
Istuary grew from zero women hires when it first started in 2013 to 20 percent in less than three years. Jean Su, Vice President of Engineering, Innovation Labs, who also spoke today, was the first female software developer hired at the company a year and a half ago. Underrepresentation of women led Istuary to make significant strides to increase the number of women with backgrounds from mechanical engineering to software development and computer design.
“I developed my career in a heavily male-dominated industry but I saw it more as an opportunity,” said Su. “I studied in Canada at UBC then worked in China, where my female colleagues are expected to work for a few years then leave and have a family. Canada is more advanced in providing huge opportunities for women, but it needs to be better. From a business perspective, it just makes logical sense.”
Istuary will host Make the Change: Women in STEM Talks regularly. For more information, contact: media@istuary.com.
Istuary Innovation Group
Istuary Innovation Group is a Canadian technology company with a mission to connect local technology to global markets through globalization for sustainable innovation. Istuary focuses on identifying and filling technology gaps in foreign markets by leveraging Canada’s world-class design and engineering talent. Operating in 3 countries, 30 cities, and employing over 1500 employees worldwide, go to www.istuary.com for more information.
Contact:
Shirley Wong Walker
Manager, External Relations
Istuary Innovation Group
Phone: 604 299-0388
Email: media@istuary.com
Source: Istuary Innovation Group
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