Research allows us to better understand the gender disparity by identifying barriers facing women in engineering. Once these are identified, targeted efforts can be made to promote meaningful change in those areas. Recent, well-documented successes demonstrate the trend can be dramatically changed with targeted, research-supported efforts.
Dean of Smith Engineering at Queen's, Kevin Deluzio has ambitious goals for the faculty. “Queen’s has been at about 30 per cent female Engineering undergraduates for a while. Without doing some things fundamentally different, that number won’t get bigger. I have no set goal in mind, but 30 per cent is too low.” [The Queen's Journal. "Chair in Women in Engineering position approved by Board of Trustees." (Jan. 12, 2020)]
Queen’s has introduced numerous initiatives to increasing recruitment and retention of women in engineering. Research helps determine the success of these initiatives by monitoring the University's progress over time.
Ontario’s Leaky Pipeline for Women in Engineering and Physics
The ratios are presented as the proportion of females:males at different points in the pipeline. Developed using Ontario Ministry of Education Enrolment data from 2016.
M. Wells, M. Williams, E. Corrigan, and V. Davidson, Closing the Gap in Engineering and Physics: The Role of High School Physics, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Guelph, College 2018
Women enrolled in undergraduate engineering programs at Queen's University and in Canada from 2000 to 2019. Queen's has maintained a higher level of women enrolment compared to the national average.
Source: Engineers Canada. Canadian engineers for tomorrow: Trends in engineering enrolment and degrees awarded.
Gender Representation on Engineering Websites
Visual media on Queen’s engineering websites was studied in November 2020 to determine gender representation. The percentage of women portrayed was below the university's goal of >30% women undergraduates in six out of 10 websites.
WiE Summer Research Grant
Grants will be awarded annually to support undergraduate students interested in research.
To apply: Please contact your home department for further details.
Qualifications: Queen’s University undergraduate student enrolled in engineering. Student identifies as a woman or an ally to women in engineering.
Highlight: A bio of each student will be posted on our website. Upon completion, a summary of their research and any resulting material (poster/paper/etc.) will be added.