Empowering Women in Chemistry Event to be Held at CBU

On Tuesday, February 12, women in the field of Chemistry will gather at CBU to network and celebrate the achievements of strong and talented women across the world.

The breakfast event, hosted by CBU Professor Dr. Stephanie MacQuarrie and Senior Laboratory Instructor Judy MacInnis, is entitled Empowering Women in Chemistry: A Global Networking Event and will take place from 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

These events, organized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, take place all over the world each year, bringing women chemists in various careers together and we’re thrilled to host one here in Cape Breton for the first time. While there have been improvements in the field, Dr. MacQuarrie says high numbers of women in chemistry at the high school level are still not translating into similar representation at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. Events like the Global Women’s Breakfast can help effect change.

“Gender equality has not yet been fully achieved in STEM fields, particularly physical sciences like Chemistry,” says Dr. MacQuarrie. “Increasing engagement, advocating for female chemists, enhancing leadership and highlighting the accomplishments of the women in our field is a critical part of moving toward decreasing the gender gap.”

The Global Women’s Breakfast aims to assist women chemists to expand their network of contacts both locally and internationally. Attendees can share their career progress and discuss various professional development, research and teaching opportunities. Dr. MacQuarrie and MacInnis invited more than 30 women chemists, both students and working professionals and were pleased that registration quickly filled up. They are looking forward to the celebratory event, which will feature a keynote address from Dr. Vicki Meli, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Mount Allison University.

They would like to thank the CBU Chemistry Department, The Maritime Section of the Chemical Institute of Canada and the Canadian Society for Chemistry for their help in assisting and funding this important event.

To learn more about Chemistry at CBU, click here.