The UBC engineering community gathered outside the Fred Kaiser Atrium in remembrance of the 14 victims of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre.
On December 6 1989, a man entered an engineering classroom and killed a total of 14 women in an act of gender-based violence that remains the second largest mass shooting in Canadian history. December 6 has since been declared by Canada as the National Day of Remembrance and Action of Violence Against Women in 1991.
Tumi Fabiyi, an engineering student and manager of the ceremony, opened the event with a reflection on the significance of being a woman in engineering following such an act.
“I take pride in being a woman in engineering, not just because it’s my passion, but because that simple act alone is an assertion against the belief that women do not belong in these spaces,” said Fabiyi.
“It is more important than ever to recognize the role each one of us plays in creating inclusive spaces and fighting against sexism in our institutions.”
Fabiyi also said that “Through collaboration and respect within our academic and professional spheres, we can actively work towards eliminating the barriers that women in engineering still face today.”
Karisma Jutla, the Engineering Undergraduate Society president pointed out that, “In 1989 Polytechnique sat under 20 per cent of women in engineering, and today UBC sits around 30 per cent.”
“As women in engineering, I believe we owe it to [those] women to continue our careers and our studies,” said Jutla.
The speeches that followed reiterated this message of perseverance.
Gloria Cardinal, an Indigenous Support Specialist at the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office at UBC, said that “every voice has the potential for greatness, men and women alike.”
Cardinal also expressed the intersection between Indigenous and women’s liberation, and said that she “[doesn’t] want to see anyone having their voice taken away or be silenced.”
Monique Staals, a UBC alum, took a moment to celebrate the women who survived and continued their lives after the attack.
“Heidi [Rathjen] was a civil engineering student in 1989 at that school, after the attack, she … dedicated herself to gun control, forming the coalition of gun control in 1991, and would make recommendations to strengthen gun control policy in Canada,” Staals said.
Two UBC engineering alumni, Mariam Abdulameer and Erica Mason, shared their experiences in the industry and offered advice for women pursuing successful careers in engineering.
“So I want people today, especially young women in engineering, I want you when you notice that people treat you differently, because you’re a woman, you don’t acknowledge it, but move on,” said Abdulameer.
Mason spoke about the imposter syndrome she often felt when entering new jobs.
“I’ve heard other women in STEM share their experiences with imposter syndrome … We feel the need to be extraordinary, just to be seen as equal ... but this attitude is a result of the gender bias that we’re hardwired to believe from a young age. Men don’t experience this in the same way.”
Mason called on women to empower each other in the workplace, by lifting each other up and finding “allies.”
Abdulameer encouraged women to be their most authentic selves in the workplace, no matter the pressure to act otherwise.
“Sometimes I worry that if I put a smiley face in my emails that the other person is gonna realize I’m a woman. Well, I am a woman, and I love smiling,” said Abdulameer.