I very much appreciate this opportunity to make a presentation in front of the standing committee on behalf of the Canadian Centre for Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology. Because that's quite a mouthful, we call it the WinSETT Centre.
The centre works in partnership with people across the country, stakeholders, on the retention and advancement of women in the fields of science, engineering, trades, and technology. We've heard that there are a minority of women in these fields, so we know that a lot of work needs to be done to change this situation.
The fact that there are so few women affects the careers of the women themselves, because they're seen to be such a minority in the area and they're often working on their own with no other women around, but it also affects the careers of young women. We know, more and more, how important role models are. Often I hear young women say, “Oh yes, I saw someone who is in a leadership role in science or engineering, and that let me know that I could do it.” If we don't have women in these leadership roles, we're sending a subtle message to our young women that they don't belong in these fields, and we certainly don't want to do that.
The other problem that has been alluded to is that where there is a very marked minority of women, the culture of the workplace tends not to be very supportive of these women. Again, we know that it very much affects the retention of women in these fields.
In terms of some statistics, this, to me, was quite astonishing: in 2011, only 29% of women between 25 and 34 who had a degree in science, technology, engineering, or math were working in the natural and applied sciences. So only 29% of them were working in the field in which they had their university degree. That's compared with 52% of men with degrees in these fields who were working in the areas in which they had their education.
One of the problems we are concerned about is how it affects the economic security of women if they are not going to continue in the field of science, engineering, trades, and technology. If they feel that they cannot do so and that they have to move into another field, they're likely to take a lower-paying job. They're perhaps less likely to be economically independent. I think that particularly for women in the trades this is a problem.
We know that because of the situations they sometimes find themselves in, if they decide that they can no longer remain in their trade, it often means that they also do not have financial security and cannot leave an abusive relationship. So we're looking to encourage women into leadership, advancement, and also stability in their chosen field.
Of course, more and more we know that a management team that is diverse, not just gender diverse but culturally diverse also—but we are most concerned with gender diversity at the moment—is very good for the Canadian economy. Companies with gender diversity in their management and board teams tend to have higher productivity, greater return to shareholders, and the other thing I find interesting, a stronger philanthropic commitment to our society, which is again important.
We in the WinSETT Centre have been very active in trying to change the situation. We believe in knowing what the research says, but then very much in taking action.
We've developed a series of workshops, the titles and substance of which really have depended on what women in the SETT fields have told us they need. I've had the privilege of attending many of these workshops and seeing what they can do.
I would quickly share with you a couple of stories. One of the workshops is called Negotiating for Success. Women don't tend to negotiate in quite the same way as men. For example, in university faculty positions, if you don't negotiate your initial salary very well, then we know the women tend to have lower salaries to start with in a faculty position. That means they never catch up. They're doing just as well in promotions and incrementation of salary, but they started lower so they never catch up.
In general, women need to learn the techniques of negotiation. At one of the workshops, one of the guest speakers provided what I thought was a very valuable tip to the women there, and this was that it's often difficult for women to go and ask for a promotion. We believe it's very important that women are not forced into a style they're not comfortable with.
This woman, who was an engineer working in an engineering company, said that what she did was go to her supervisor and ask what she needed to do to get a promotion. Her supervisor said, “I'll have a look and I'll get back to you.” In a few days her supervisor came back to her and said that she should have had her promotion, that she had done everything she needed to do for a promotion. I thought the women in the group felt that this was something they would be comfortable doing, rather than demanding. It's a very small thing.