Alisha Rao and Amal Attar-Guzman: From making strides in STEM to the PWHL, the future is bright for Canadian women

Today is International Women’s Day, where there will be much commentary on the status of women in our society. Undoubtedly, much of the focus will be on the gender-related challenges that women still face. And rightfully so. 

While it is important to reflect on these obstacles, this year, we also want to focus on efforts that seek to proactively improve women’s lives, particularly here in Canada. 

Here are some people we would like to draw attention to today. 

Public policy

On matters of public policy, readers should keep an eye out for two Senate bills currently in their first reading stage. 

S-263, introduced by Conservative Senator Salma Ataullahjan, aims to formally introduce a national strategy to combat human trafficking. Canada is, unfortunately, a source, destination, and transit country of human trafficking, primarily in sexual exploitation and forced labour. According to Statistics Canada, in 2022, 94 percent of police-reported human trafficking incidents involved women and girls. Additionally, Indigenous women and girls, migrants and new immigrants, LGBT folks, and children in the foster care system are especially at risk. 

Most troubling, 91 percent of victims were trafficked by someone they knew and 34 percent were trafficked by an intimate partner, according to Statistics Canada.  

The second bill making its way through Parliament looks to combat the latter case. S-249, introduced by Conservative Senator Fabian Manning, aims to formally introduce a national strategy to combat intimate partner violence. This bill is coming at the right time. In 2022, almost eight in 10 (78 percent) of victims of intimate partner violence reported to the police were women and girls. Last month, experts rang the alarm saying that it is an “epidemic” here in Canada. So, the Senate bill rightly calls for the minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth to “prepare a report setting out [a] national strategy” to combat the issue head-on. 

Business 

The world of business is not an easy path to endeavour for anyone, let alone women. Beyond any moral case, women’s full and free participation in the economy makes fiscal sense. Studies have shown that by advancing gender equality, Canada’s economy could add up to $150 billion in GDP. Despite these lost socioeconomic opportunities, Canada is still a global leader of women in business, and we have seen great progress made by Canadian female entrepreneurs and business leaders. 

One sterling example is Ami Shah, the co-founder of Peekapak Inc., an educational technology platform that enables educators teaching from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 to implement social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. This is done through game-based learning and evidence-based lessons. Educators can review reports on student’s progress and emotions, which allows them to be proactive in their students’ mental health. Gratitude, self-regulation, compassion, and respect are emphasized as a part of the learning process for growing children. Shah has been recognized as a Compass Rose Entrepreneur.

Not only is this a viable business venture, but it also serves a necessary role in childhood development and curbing mental health challenges.

STEM

Women in STEM face similar challenges to those in business. Numbers show that while 34 percent of Canadians with a STEM degree are women, they only make up 23 percent of those working in science and technology. Like in business, Canada is leaving valuable fruit hanging on the tree, as scientific innovation and progress are stunted by not maximizing women’s potential in the field. A 2022 study’s findings “reveal [that] gender and teamwork synergies…correlate with scientific discoveries,” and thus innovation and progress. 

While there is a small margin of women in STEM, the ones who are there are still making waves, especially one in particular. 

Take the case of Dr. Ellen Kenchington, a benthic ecologist based in Nova Scotia working at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. Her work focuses on the organisms that live on the seafloor. She researches the relationship between the structure of sediment and seabed to understand how these organisms are distributed in oceans. Importantly, her scientific knowledge contributes to how we can monitor the impacts of climate change and better protect our oceans.

Kenchington previously served on the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Scientific Committee (ICES) and was recently honoured with the ICES Outstanding Achievement Award for her work. 

Sports

Now, we can’t celebrate women’s advancement without mentioning Canada’s favourite pastime: hockey. 

On New Year’s Day, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PHWL) officially premiered at Toronto’s Maple Leafs Gardens where it held its first game: New York versus Toronto. 

Billie Jean King, an infamous tennis player who won the Battle of the Sexes tennis match and is now a co-founder of the PWHL, dropped the first puck in the league’s history: 

When the all-female hockey league was initially announced, there were naysayers claiming there wouldn’t be any interest and that “it was bound to fail.” If the initial buzz is any indication, they will be proven decisively wrong. The first-ever game was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,537 attendees. Many young girls watched in awe, screaming their support in the stands. 

While New York beat Toronto 4-0, it was Canadian hockey player Ella Shelton, fourth draft pick for New York, who scored the first-ever PWHL goal. Fingers crossed it will soon become a Canada Heritage Minute. 

Social media and arts 

Canadian artists, actors, singers, filmmakers, and writers have always been powerhouses in North America’s globally dominant entertainment industry, and Canadian women are no exception. Nowadays, though, we can add content creators to that list of luminary influencers. Model and TikToker Willow Allen is just one of many up-and-comers who are bridging gaps. 

An Inuvialuit model from the town of Inuvik in the Northwest Territories, Allen has made major strides in the last year, building her influence and integrating her culture into her content creation. In 2022, she was featured in the Accelerator for Indigenous Creators TikTok program, which helps creators extend their social media reach and connect with fellow Indigenous creators. Her content focuses on bringing light to Indigenous culture and issues for a wider audience, including the history of Inuit tattoos and social work vacancies across Northern Canada. Her audience is currently 775K TikTok followers and counting, 

Now embarking on the journey of motherhood, Allen communicates how, in becoming a mother, she incorporates land-based teaching into her everyday life and imagines how her newborn son will carry on the cultural lessons that she learned, as he grows up. 

The folks listed here are only just a small portion of many who are committed to not only improving the lives of women but also to their communities and the country as a whole. They are working towards building a Canada where women are not only secure but also can thrive and be triumphant. 

They show that despite the complex, gender-based challenges ahead of us, instead of cowering, we can confront them, persevere, and make conditions better for future generations of women.