In celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Feb. 11, the Atlantica Centre of Energy hosted a webinar event with New Brunswick’s Centre of Excellence for Energy.

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly declared Feb. 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science to raise global awareness to support women and girls in achieving full and equal access to, and participation in, science.

“As a moderator for the webinar, I was excited to celebrate the success of our female workforce across Canada,” said Chloé Burton, Clean Energy Youth Engagement Officer with the Atlantica Centre for Energy. “I believe we were successful in exposing and encouraging more women and girls to pursue opportunities available in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

The webinar event attracted more than 100 participants, with more than a quarter of those being from school districts across New Brunswick.

Those within the STEM fields are encouraged to share the links and stimulate discussion to bring awareness to this important mandate. The 10 webinar sessions were recorded and are available through the links below:

  1. Opportunities in the Energy Segment – Women in Renewable Energy
    Joanna Osawe, President and CEO of Women in Renewable Energy, kicked off the webinar event with a session dedicated to highlighting opportunities available in the energy segment (17 minutes).
  1. Science Education and Sustainable Development Goals
    Education consultant Janice Williams took a deep dive into the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 and the tie it has with science education and gender equality (28 minutes).
  1. Green Career Panel – The Gaia Project
    A panel discussion focusing on women in green careers, addressing involvement, experiences and success in various fields ranging from marine biology to soil chemistry and nuclear energy (35 minutes).
  1. Importance of Confidence – Atlantica Centre for Energy
    Colleen d’Entremont, President of the Atlantica Centre for Energy, gave an empowering speech on the importance of confidence – providing tips for women and girls to become more confident in themselves and their abilities (19 minutes).
  1. Women in the Small Modular Reactor Field – NB Power, Arc Clean Energy, Moltex Energy
    Moderated by Alex Woodworth, representatives from NB Power, Arc Clean Energy, and Moltex Energy discussed the opportunities, barriers and rewards of being a woman involved with the next generation of nuclear technology (33 minutes).
  1. A Woman’s Perspective from Inside the Trades – MAP Strategic Work Services
    Tara McNeill, a Red Seal automotive service technician, and Elizabeth Sandwith, the first Red Seal woman in refrigeration and air conditioning in New Brunswick, gave key insights to trade careers that are in demand, while sharing their perspectives as women from inside the trades (27 minutes).
  1. Women in Science, Engineering and Technologies – New Brunswick Community College
    Jodi Stringer-Webb, Dean of Engineering Technologies at the New Brunswick Community College, was joined by faculty and alumni from NBCC to present opportunities available in their science, engineering and technology programs (29 minutes).
  1. Science Spotlights – Science East
    Becky Geneau, Director of Environmental Programs at Science East, was joined by Brittany Cormier, Project Leader at the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance. These passionate women shared personal stories as women in science and highlighted an upcoming opportunity called “Envirothon” (30 minutes).
  1. Women in Computer Science – University of New Brunswick
    Dr. Patricia Evans and Madison Rideout from the University of New Brunswick’s Faculty of Computer Science gave an overview of the programs offered at the University of New Brunswick and took a deep dive into explaining the diverse areas of computer science (28 minutes).
  1. Women in STEM – ChatterHigh
    The women of technology from ChatterHigh, a digital learning tool for K–12, took a deep dive into the pathways available for students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through leveraging their company’s platform (32 minutes).

Additional Resources: