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Women engineers are changing the world, and our presence is a revolution
On days like today, I can’t help but think of 14 brilliant women who should have had the chance to sit where I sit.
On Dec. 6, 1989, Canada witnessed a tragedy that forever marked the engineering community. Fourteen women were murdered at École Polytechnique in Montreal — a senseless act of gender-based violence targeting their audacity to dream, to build, to engineer a better world.
It was a day that shattered lives and exposed a raw truth: Women in engineering were not just under-represented — they were unwelcome in some corners of society.
Thirty-five years later, as I defend my PhD dissertation in information systems engineering, I carry the weight of this history.
I stand here because of the courage, resilience and determination of those who came before me — women who fought to carve out spaces where others like them could excel, lead and innovate. On this profound day, I honour their legacy by claiming my space in a profession where our presence is still too often questioned.
Dec. 6 is a solemn reminder of the brutal consequences of entrenched misogyny, but it’s also a rallying cry for systemic change in engineering and beyond. It urges us to reflect on how far women have come and how much further we must go.
A lot has changed since 1989. Women now lead groundbreaking engineering projects, hold senior positions in academia and serve as CEOs of tech firms. We are no longer anomalies; we are forces of change. And yet, for every woman who breaks through, countless others are still told — explicitly or implicitly — that they don’t belong.
On days like today, I can’t help but think of the 14 brilliant women who should have had the chance to sit where I sit, to defend their work, to change the world.
Across Canada, women engineers have reshaped the field and continue to do so. Trailblazers like Natalie Panek, an aerospace engineer working on Mars rovers, and Elsie MacGill, the Queen of the Hurricanes who designed Second World War fighter planes, exemplify resilience in the field.
Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire became École Polytechnique’s first female civil engineering graduate in 1963 and a leader in academia and philanthropy. Claire Deschênes broke barriers as Université Laval’s first female engineering professor and co-founded a global women engineers’ network. M. Elizabeth Cannon advanced GPS technology and led the University of Calgary.
Micheline Bouchard and Danielle Zaikoff broke leadership barriers as the first women at the head of several major engineering organizations, leading the Canadian Academy of Engineering and presiding over the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, respectively, paving the way for future generations.
These stories highlight the transformative power and brilliance of women in engineering when barriers fall. Campuses today are incubators of this change.
Nearly a decade ago, I had the honour of serving as president of Concordia University’s Women in Engineering association, which continues to provide mentorship, leadership training and outreach to inspire young girls to pursue careers in engineering.
Similarly, McGill University, Polytechnique Montréal and École de technologie supérieure offer summer research programs that provide undergraduate women with hands-on experience in advanced fields, mentorship, and exposure to real-world applications, building their confidence to pursue graduate studies and impactful careers.
Nationally, Engineers Canada’s 30 by 30 initiative aims for 30 per cent of new licensed engineers to be women by 2030, recognizing that gender equity drives stronger, more effective solutions.
As I defend my PhD today, I am deeply grateful for the opportunities and support that brought me here. This moment is a declaration that women not only belong in engineering, but can thrive in engineering.
To those on the sidelines, I urge you to step forward. Mentor a young woman. Advocate for policies that promote equity in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
And to my fellow women engineers, know this: Your presence is a revolution. Every problem you solve, every project you lead, every idea you bring to life is a testament to your strength and to the power of diversity.
Today, we remember. Tomorrow, we rise. Together, we will build a future where no one questions a woman’s right to engineer a better world.
Sarah Farahdel is a public scholar and PhD candidate in information systems engineering at Concordia University, specializing in sustainability frameworks. She has acquired nearly 10 years of industry experience across various sectors.
