As Canadians celebrate International Women’s Week, we take note of the many substantial advances women have achieved politically, socially and economically – and acknowledge the ongoing struggle to challenge the prejudice girls and women confront each day.
This also marks Women of Aviation Worldwide Week, and an occasion for Canada to celebrate women’s contributions to aviation and aerospace in the 50 years since the first woman travelled to space. As part of its valuable advocacy and education work, the Institute for Women of Aviation Worldwide is ensuring that roughly 3,000 girls and women will have the opportunity this week to interact with women involved in space exploration.
With such a small number of women involved in this important profession, it is very difficult for our daughters to find female role models.
And while NASA is enthusiastically supporting initiatives to improve gender-equality in aerospace, the Harper Conservatives have been less than proactive in assisting with efforts to include women in this week’s events.
On the 50th anniversary of women in space, we need to be encouraging young Canadian girls – our children – to reach their dreams and potential.
We need to demand basic respect for women, in all facets of society and in all professions. It has been just over a century since the first woman received her pilot’s license. Today, regrettably, we see that women’s equality in this leading industry has not improved nearly as much as it should have.
On this International Women’s Week, let’s choose to inspire Canadian girls and women.
Geoff Regan
Liberal Industry critic
I’d be interested to learn more about the LPC’s contribution to women in aerospace over the time that the Liberals were in power. Just askin’.
Women in Aerospace in Canada website…. http://wia-canada.org/index.html
Geoff,
I work for Women Unlimited, an innovative program here in Nova Scotia, that encourages and supports women interested in careers in science, trades or technology. We would love to see more women go into the Aerospace industry but the cost of the training programs is one of the biggest barriers keeping women out. I’d love to see some of the businesses in this industry take on the challenge of creating a more diverse workforce by sponsoring women and assisting them with the costs.
Thanks for drawing attention to this issue!
Kelli Skinner, Workplace Facilitator Women Unlimited
http://www.womenunlimitedns.ca
Hi Kelli,
Thanks for your feedback. I’d be interested in hearing your suggestions about how the federal government can better support training opportunities for women in science and technology, and encourage employers to do the same.
Geoff
Thanks Geoff,
I’d love to share my suggestions with you. We can use all the help we can get.
Every day a women is prevented from getting the necessary training required or employers are reluctant to invest in newly trained apprentices and prefer to hire journey persons from other countries.
Did you see this recent story in the Chronicle Herald? http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/885849-big-rig-hopeful-seems-stalled-by-gender
Kelli Skinner, Workplace Facilitator Women Unlimited
http://www.womenunlimitedns.ca
Some of the most intelligent CANADIANS will never be recognized due to the fact they CANT AFFORD TO ATTEND HIGHER LEARNING ! THAT WILL CHANGE JUST WATCH US !
It was a sad sad day when EDUCATION BECAME A MONEY MAKING ENTITY SAME GOES FOR HEALTH CARE !
LETS GIVE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ORGANIZE EDUCATION A BIG PAT ON THE BACK , & maybe our representatives for our UNIVERSITIES should be a comity of students instead of a million dollar GENIUS !