Annie Ross, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and holder of the Marianne-Mareschal Chair for the promotion of engineering to women, emceed the evening. Monique Jérôme-Forget, former Québec Finance Minister and President of the Treasury Board, who wrote the recent essay “Les Femmes au secours de l'économie : pour en finir avec le plafond de verre” (women saving the economy: we're done with the glass ceiling), gave the conference's opening address. Her presentation on leadership and women's participation in governance set the tone for the evening. In sharing her thoughts on so-called  “sticky floors” and “glass ceilings,” two concepts she discusses in her work, she drew a clear picture of the situation of women in companies, and the reasons that motivate them to interrupt their careers. While 42% of companies have no women on their boards of directors and only 6% of business leaders are women, Ms. Jérôme-Forget spoke of her conviction that women have the power to help Québec develop its leadership in the business world and in many other spheres of activity.  

One after another, the guest speakers, all female graduates of Polytechnique, delivered vibrant testimonials about their personal career paths and the places they hold in engineering. Hélène Brisebois, President of SDK and Associates; Lucie Alègre, Executive Director of the Société de Saint-Vincent de Paul de Montréal, and student Marine Hadengue, BEng, MScA in international politics and doctoral student in industrial engineering with a focus on technology dissemination, all spoke of the importance of strong support networks, work-family balance, and following one's convictions. They said they have always felt respected and welcomed by their male colleagues, and proud of the contributions they are making to tomorrow's society. The closing address was given by Nadine Pelletier, Eng, member of the Board of Directors of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, who noted that a recent survey showed that 83% of female engineers are happy at work. As well, 60% of male engineers and 67% of female engineers would encourage their daughters to follow in their footsteps. All these women, regardless of where their path has taken them, spoke of how their studies and engineering experiences were useful to them every day on the job.

Polytechnique would like to thank all the people who helped make this event a success. We are already looking forward to next year's fourth edition of the Conférence Femmes et génie!

From left to right : Annie Ross, Polytechnique Montréal, Hélène Brisebois, SDK et associés, Nadine Pelletier, OIQ, Monique Jérôme-Forget, Osler, Lucie Alègre, Société de Saint-Vincent de Paul de Montréal, Marine Hadengue, Polytechnique Montréal, Christophe Guy, Polytechnique Montréal.

See also:
Femmes et génie online
Website for the Marianne-Mareschal Chair