Women in STEM projects

In 2023, the Archives and Special Collections with support from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission undertook a series of oral history interviews with women in Canada who have made a significant impact on the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

In the interviews, these experts not only provided divergent perspectives on the field, but also on feminism, racial justice, and STEM’s role in achieving and/ or preventing social equity. Taken together, these interviews have tremendous historical value as an archive of women’s experience in STEM, from the final decades of the 20th century until our present moment, and they help us understand what it was like to learn and to work in male-dominated environments which were potentially encouraging, or potentially hostile, to women.

The Profiles in Focus feature highlights individuals who have worked to improve the status of women in Canadian STEM and have made significant contributions to their fields.  

In collaboration with CHUO 89.1 FM, the University of Ottawa’s Archives and Special Collections presents Beyond the Lab. Written and produced by Zoë Argiropulos-Hunter, Beyond the Lab is a historical audio series highlighting women and their contribution to STEM research, which includes fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These bite-sized podcasts will feature biographical overviews of female pioneers in STEM, as well as interviews with current female researchers and archivists. The primary aim of this collaborative initiative is to promote the Canadian Archive of Women in STEM project launched by the Archives and Special Collections. By raising awareness about the Canadian Archive of Women in STEM, within the campus community and more broadly, the Archives and Special Collections hopes that this method of creative outreach will inspire women in STEM fields to donate their records to the project, and to acknowledge the work of women that often goes unrecognized.