I think most of the women pioneers in science and engineering did it by sheer force of will. In many cases, those steps have succeeded in that the level of female participation in physical science programs and in some engineering disciplines has equalized. But there are other fields in which it has not. ARC is a joint university-industry pilot program that was initiated to address the shortages of information technology graduates and the low participation by women in all levels, from undergraduate programs to the workplace. According to the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, females hold about 13 per cent of the engineering faculty positions in Canada, and that number is expected to rise as women currently enrolled in engineering go on to graduate studies.
Research shows that young girls are doing equally well academically.
At the Grade 5 level there is an enthusiasm for math and science and an interest in non-traditional career paths that drops significantly in Grades 7 and 8. Its gender issues program includes extensive staff training, a national bursary program, advocacy and teacher and parent presentations and training. This discourages many boys and girls from working at math.