Overview of Women and Information Technology in CanadaCanada is characterized by many of the same socio-cultural norms as in the U.S. that discourage girls from studying math and science early on, contributing to lower numbers of women in engineering and IT careers. The country has a strong information technology sector and a government strongly committed to IT training and workforce development, in response to anticipation of severe labor shortages. The large number of initiatives geared to increase the number of women in engineering and sciences and equip them with IT skills offers a promising outlook for women in Canada in the IT sector.
Gender Policy Framework
- The Canadian Constitution guarantees equal rights based on gender for both men and women. It also includes special measures that are tailored to correct past gender discrimination. The Government of Canada as well as governments of all ten provinces also prohibits discrimination based on sex in their Human Rights Acts.
Non-government Gender & IT Activities - The University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and IBM (among others), is offering an intensive 2-year training program involving classroom work and internships to train men and women in computing skills for a range of IT careers. The average age of students is 31 and over 70% are women.
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IBM has also launched the Women in Technology (WIT) Program, which organizes workshops bringing together middle school age girls with female role models in the IT industry.
- McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario uses creative strategies to encourage both males and females in science and engineering.
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