The Association of Women in Engineering and Science (AWES) was started in 1980 by E. Virginia MacKay, P.Eng. (Civil ’48) who recognized that most women in the profession never had the opportunity to work with other engineers of the same gender.  At that time in the industry, women were very much a minority.  You were always the only woman engineer in the meeting or on the team.  The purpose of the group was to provide support and encouragement to young women practicing engineering who felt isolated by this.  After a few years the name and membership of the group evolved into the Association of Women in Engineering and Science (AWES) to encompass women scientists in Calgary. 

 

Thriving into the 1990’s, AWES provided its members with a wonderful women’s network to share experiences, mentor young women starting their careers, attend luncheons and participate in an outreach program which provided speakers to elementary and high schools.  Our message was simple: engineering and science is fun and a great career.  Just being a woman sharing this was enough to send the message that anyone in the room can be an engineer/scientist.  In fact, to show the power of image, there was one boy in a kindergarten class who, after the presentation put up his hand and asked, “Can boys be engineers too?”.

 

The group had a monthly newsletter that was always a challenge to get written, copied and mailed out (in the days before email) but it provided for many fun nights scrambling to get it done.  AWES held monthly lunches with speakers brought in to talk about various topics from financial planning to computer security to solar eclipses. One of the most successful AWES events was a monthly after-work networking group at a downtown restaurant named Green Street.   It was held the first Wednesday of every month and was a drop-in if you’ve got time, casual event.  It was  a great place to discuss various topics of interest and provide a way for the members to be able to share their experiences with one another and give support and advice.   It created a professional and social network that some of us still utilize 20 years later. 

 

It may be 20 years later – and times have definitely changed for the better but there will always be a benefit to having a network of women engineers and scientists from various backgrounds and companies that can provide an objective opinion and friendship.  We are still spreading the message that these professions are open to everyone.  You can succeed, you can have a family and a career and above all – they are great professions, always interesting and changing!  Join us!