In April, council established the role of an inclusivity champion as part of the Equity and Diversity Committee chair’s duties. APEGS had previously appointed a 30 by 30 champion and group to focus on increasing women in the professions to 30 per cent by 2030. That role became encapsulated in the new inclusivity champion in recognition of the importance to consider all types of diversity, in addition to gender.
The inclusivity champion serves to:
- Represent APEGS to Engineers Canada’s 30 by 30 Champions Network, or assign a designate, approved by the Image and Identity Board Chair (APEGS’ President-Elect).
- Report on national initiatives related to inclusivity for APEGS’ consideration.
- Liaise with other APEGS committees on inclusivity initiatives and considerations.
In June, council appointed Elvia Torres Morales, P.Eng. as the inclusivity champion and chair of the Equity and Diversity Committee. Council is examining how to integrate inclusivity with APEGS’ regulatory role of protecting the public as part of the governance review and council’s annual strategic planning session in fall 2020.
Celebrating five years of 30 by 30
In 2015, council created the 30 by 30 Task Group in connection with Engineers Canada’s 30 by 30 initiative with a Saskatchewan goal to raise the percentage of women in engineering and geoscience from 11 per cent to 30 per cent by the year 2030.
The group had many achievements, including creating new branding and material to promote the goal, partnering with the Saskatchewan Science Centre to release Dream Big: Engineering Our World, providing professional development opportunities internally, promoting external professional development events, identifying and establishing new activities that have been adopted by APEGS’ committees, and establishing strong relationships within the national 30 by 30 champion community of regulators and universities as well as within the K-12 educational community.
The terms of reference for the 30 by 30 group expired on December 31, 2019. The responsibilities of the group were incorporated in the work of existing committees. The group submitted its final report to Executive Committee with recommendations for going forward.
Council thanks all the members of 30 by 30 for their work with special thanks to Margaret Anne Hodges, P.Eng., 30 by 30 champion and chair, for her leadership in and passion for increasing the number of women in engineering.
