Williams Engineering (WE) has continuously been committed to supporting equality, inclusion and diversity within the engineering industry and beyond. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have guided our efforts toward achieving gender equality by empowering all women and girls and reducing inequalities present within our communities. Only 22 percent of engineering undergraduates are female, and a mere 13 percent of Canada’s licensed professional engineers are women. Reasons behind these statistics can be attributed to the gender pay gap, lack of role models or women in leadership positions and ultimately, a lack of opportunity throughout the industry. Social barriers and bias also contribute significantly to the under-representation of women in STEM by discouraging girls from pursuing a core education in science and mathematics. These barriers and biases lead to the failure of introducing female students to critical resources required to encourage young girls to consider careers and education in engineering.
WE is thrilled to continue helping close the gender gap within STEM industries while partnering with the University of Alberta to provide the Williams Engineering Award in Engineering. This award is allotted to students identifying as female who holds a GPA of at least 3.0 and is enrolled in their fourth year of a Bachelor of Science program in Mechanical, Electrical or Civil Engineering. Academic standing and demonstrated examples of leadership, community involvement, volunteer activities and extracurricular activities are all considered when selecting a recipient of the awarded scholarship.
Please join us in congratulating 2021’s outstanding female engineering student, Harleen Kaur, on achieving the Williams Engineering Award in Engineering!
