Women, who are increasingly present on the benches of Polytechnique Montréal, could be the key to transforming the engineering profession as Quebec tries to recover from several years of scandals.
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So said Maud Cohen, the first woman to head Polytechnique Montréal, the University of Montreal-affiliated institution that is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.
Ms. Cohen has a professional background closely tied to the engineering institution, having been a student at the school herself in the 1990s. Her appointment in 2022 was a powerful symbol for students in the field, including one in particular.
“In the main atrium there were portraits of the former general directors of the Polytechnique, and they were all men,” the general director recalled. “A young woman came to me in tears and said, 'I saw these men every day and then I asked myself: Do I belong here?'”
Looking for models
Currently, Polytechnique has 30% women at the bachelor's level, 32% at the master's level and 34% at the doctoral level out of more than 10,000 students on campus, Ms. Cohen said. At that time, less than 20% of them were studying in this field.
Tragic as it was, the December 6, 1989 femicide at Polytechnique had played a role in the registration of women in engineering, as had Maud Cohen discovering the profession during the tragedy.
Photo agency QMI, JOEL LEMAY
“I remember people talking to me about law, medicine and even accounting, but never about engineering,” she said.
In this male-dominated profession, she particularly wants to encourage women to become models. “We can have women who can show that it is possible to influence the behavior around them a little,” she emphasized.
In addition, 15% of members of the Order of Engineers of Quebec are women, four times more than 30 years ago.
However, Ms. Cohen recognized that there is still a long way to go, particularly in developing the 17% female faculty.
“That’s the problem,” said the director. “If we really want role models, we have to try harder and have at least 30% women in our teaching staff in the next few years.”
To this end, additional positions were opened to try to attract more women.
“It’s a constant effort,” she admitted.
A job that won't disappear
Due to the Charbonneau Commission, the SNC-Lavalin scandal and several dismissals from the Order of Engineers of Quebec, the profession has not had the best reputation in recent years.
“All professions experience these moments one day,” argued the woman who was president of the order from 2009 to 2012.
“It is important to regularly question best practices, and the line between law and moral ethics is often difficult to discern,” she said.
“There was a lot of awareness in the community after these events,” she said.
Ms. Cohen is optimistic and believes that “the profession is here to stay,” evoking issues such as artificial intelligence, which is currently on everyone’s lips, or the larger issue of climate change, which is still relevant today.
“We have always seen that the next generation wants to change the world, but if there is a moment in human history when it matters, it is today,” she emphasized.