05 Nov 2018
#GivingTuesdayCA, #STEM4Every1, Girls in STEM, Media, Success, Volunteers
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How are you breaking barriers for women in STEM this Giving Tuesday?

First, for the ones who are new to the concept, let’s start by discussing what Giving Tuesday is:

GivingTuesday is a global movement for giving and volunteering, taking place each year after Black Friday. The “Opening day of the giving season,” it’s a time when charities, companies, and individuals join together and rally for favourite causes. In the same way that retailers take part in Black Friday, the giving community comes together for GivingTuesday.

GivingTuesday harnesses the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real change in their communities; it provides a platform for them to encourage the donation of time, resources and talents to address local challenges. It also brings together the collective power of a unique blend of partners – nonprofits, civic organizations, businesses and corporations, as well as families and individuals – to encourage and amplify small acts of kindness. Across Canada and around the world, GivingTuesday unites communities by sharing our capacity to care for and empower one another. More

22 Oct 2018
#STEM4Every1, Blog, Contest, Engineering, Girls in STEM, Math, Mathematics, Science, Space, STEM Spark, Success, Technology, Women In STEM Conference
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Why we need to continue to break barriers in the 21st Century

During our 2nd Annual Sold Out Canadian Women in STEM Conference, we brought together elite speakers from all walks of life who shared stories and strategies for breaking barriers and including women in STEM.

The attendees could not stop talking about how much they are enjoying the conference and how excited they are to be there. It is always so great to see that because of the support of our community, many students were able to take part in this yearly event. Like last year, we were able to include 40% of students attendants at the conference while some were speakers. It is imperative to have everyone at the table if we want to create change for the better.

When organizing events such as these, we always wonder if they are actually making an impact. Sometimes it is very hard to know unless people talk about it. Gladly, in our case, we had one student who was given a ticket to the conference in a contest she wan, express how she felt after the conference and because of it:

Thank you, Ashima for sharing your insight. Thank you for being open and for dreaming big. Thank you for being a part of the change. Thank you for breaking barriers and for being part of the solution and for including you and other women in STEM.

If you attended the conference on October 13, 2018, we would LOVE your feedback. We strive to always make it better a better experience and we would love to hear from you how to do that. Please take 5 minutes of your time to share your thoughts here.

 

11 Oct 2018
#STEM4Every1, CanWomenSTEM150, Engineering, Girls in STEM, LGBTQA+, Math, Media, Science, Space, STEM Spark, Success, Technology, Women In STEM Conference
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Why An Inclusive Education Must Be Fostered During International Day Of The Girl Child and Beyond

“Education is neither eastern nor western. Education is education and it’s the right of every human being.”
― Malala Yousafzai

 

International Day of the Girl Child is a day we cherish now more than ever. We know that many girls and young women are still not able to develop the skills they need to enter and advance in their future careers. When a young woman comes to us and says that she is happy to be able to join an all-girl program because she doesn’t feel comfortable in being in a room full of boys at her school, is the evidence we need that enforces the concept of why these days are needed. It is important for girls and young women to see themselves as the leaders of tomorrow. 

The International Day of the Girl Child reinforces that our programs, workshops, and events such as our annual Canadian Women in STEM Conference, are much needed to help girls and young women highlight the idea that they are capable of great things. 

Last year, around this time, when we run our conference it was only because we wanted to raise awareness on the amazing talent pool of women in Canada and towards some amazing women who were behind the curtains of their jobs and never seen for the impact they made to our society. It started with the numerous questions asked by diverse students and community stakeholders: Who out there is in STEM that looks like me or has achieved success despite challenges? What are the many opportunities in STEM that everyone talks about and why would I care to learn more about STEM? It is questions like these that drive us to create change in a meaningful way, to create opportunities for inclusion for the diverse communities that exist in this community of ours called Canada.

We are honoured to celebrate this day with pride, not only on October 11 but throughout the year by ensuring that we provide more opportunities for girls and young women to become the best version of themselves and proud participants in the future workforce. 

“Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.”― Oprah Winfrey

21 Sep 2018
#STEM4Every1, Blog, CanWomenSTEM150, Engineering, LGBTQA+, Math, Mathematics, Science, Space, STEM Spark, Success, Technology, Women In STEM Conference
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Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?

Now that school started and you are becoming accommodated with the new teachers, making new friends and learning new things, you may not think about the start of your career yet. Why would you?

Depending on what you want to become, or even if you don’t know yet what that is, it is very important to start thinking about your network. Sometimes is who knows you that can give you that big break in your career.

Some speakers at our conference last year (see videos here)  have stated that they did not know what they wanted to be when they grew up and that’s ok because they eventually found their calling and have succeeded anyways. Some of them did not even pursue a STEM education yet ended up working in STEM and encouraged everyone to think about that because STEM is such an important skill to have! One particular speaker is also a rock band lead singer (how cool is that!!!!).

This year, for the 2nd annual Candian Women in STEM conference, we are bringing diverse speakers again to discuss important topics such as Innovation in Technology, LGBTQA+ in STEM, STEM Communication, Financial Literacy (one of my favourite topics) and, best of all, there will be 2 Speed Networking sessions where you will have the opportunity to meet professionals who can become your mentors and guide you in the direction where you need to be.

Did you know: having a mentor will give you a 130% more chances of holding a leadership position later on in life?   More

12 Aug 2018
#STEMingUPSpotlight, #STEMingUPWeeklyWriteUp, Blog, Engineering, Math, Mathematics, Science, Space, STEMingUPSpotlight, Technology, Uncategorized
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STEMing UP Spotlight (Interview with Dhwani Vaishnav) – STEMing UP Weekly Write Up 11

Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed last week’s Spotlight with Naomi Thomas. This week, we will be featuring Dhwani Vaishnav. This series, spanning over the duration of Phase III of the STEMing UP program will showcase the girls in the program, one each Saturday! Check back here every weekend to learn more about the incredible girls in the STEMing UP program and what they are working on.

Dhwani will be in grade 11 this September at J Clarke Richardson Collegiate and she enjoys reading, Bharatanatyam dance, and playing the violin. Fun fact: Dhwani loves to travel and has visited five countries so far!

Let’s get into the interview!

  1. Why did you join the STEMing UP program?

I joined the STEMing UP program because although I have always been interested in STEM, I had not received the opportunity to learn about content that would help me in the future other than soft skills. I received an email from the Girls-E-Mentorship (GEM) program, where I was a mentee, and immediately applied. After all, a chance to learn skills such as financial metrics, marketing, how to pitch, and coding skills such as Python and coding with the Django framework are irreplaceable skills! More

03 Aug 2018
#STEMingUPSpotlight, #STEMingUPWeeklyWriteUp, Engineering, Math, Mathematics, Science, STEMingUPSpotlight, Success, Technology
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STEMing UP Spotlight (Interview with Sanaa Syed) – STEMing UP Weekly Write Up 09

Hello, readers, and welcome back to another blog post and another STEMing UP Spotlight! This series, spanning over the duration of Phase III of the STEMing UP program will showcase the girls in the program, one each Saturday! Check back here every weekend to learn more about the incredible girls in the STEMing UP program and what they are working on.

This week we will be featuring Sanaa Syed, who is 16 years old and will be in grade 12 this September. She enjoys playing the guitar, photography, and writing short stories.

Now what you’ve all been waiting for- let’s get into the interview!

 

  1. Why did you join the STEMing UP program?

I joined the STEMing UP program in hopes to get an idea of my future career path, expand my extracurricular list, for networking opportunities, to gain soft skills such as working with a team, communication and leadership skills.

  1. What interests you about STEM?

Personally, all sciences (physics, chemistry and biology) interest me especially chemistry and physics as those are my strong subjects at school. I enjoy the aspect that it is such a broad path that has been expanding and continues to expand. More