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À la
Faculté des sciences et de génie de
l'Université
Laval: Place aux filles
PAR DOMINIQUE DROLET
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Depuis
quelques années, la Faculté des sciences et de génie de
l'Université - Laval s'est jointe à une multitude d'autres
instances alertées par la décroissance de la main-d'oeuvre
scientifique au Canada, l'augmentation parallèle des besoins
technologiques et la faible représentation des femmes dans le secteur
des sciences et du génie. Elle a donc entrepris une importante
réflexion sur ces réalités afin de contribuer au
redressement qu'impose cette situation. |
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La Faculté des
sciences et de
génie a entrepris
la mise en oeuvre
d'un Plan
d'action pour le
recrutement et
l'intégration de
la
clientèle |
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À l'Université Laval, la prise de
conscience à propos de la place des femmes dans l'enseignement
supérieur et, plus particulièrement en sciences et génie,
s'explique par un ensemble de facteurs qui ont favorisé cette
sensibilisation.
Mentionnons entre autres l'étude de l'Avis
du Conseil de la Science et de la Technologie (1986), la présence d'une
coordinatrice à la Condition Féminine et la nomination d'une
responsable du dossier de la Condition Féminine à la
Faculté des sciences et de génie. Dans la foulée, la
Faculté des sciences et de génie a entrepris, au cours de
l'été 1987, la mise en œuvre d'un Plan d'action pour le
recrutement et l'intégration de la clientèle féminine.
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The Faculty of Science and
Engineering, Laval University:
Make Room for the Women!
BY DOMINIQUE DROLET
In recent years there has been a growing demand for
workers in science and technological fields that has not been matched by the
number of students interested in studying in these fields. In response to this
trend, and to the recognition that women are under-represented in the areas of
science and engineering, the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Laval
University embraced, in 1987, a plan of action for the recruitment and
integration of girls. Some new recruitment tactics include the participation of
female students from the Faculty in career-days at secondary schools of
CÉGEPS; the organization of visits for interested students to the
Faculty laboratories and facilities; the sensitization of professors and
counsellors to the bias inherent in sciences and engineering against girls; and
the distribution of information about successful female Students in sciences or
engineering.
Once girls are recruited, their integration must involve
an understanding of how they differently experience the academic environment
and how they best function within it. In many cases, they are motivated by the
same interests as boys (prospects for a good job, interest in the material
studied, and the challenge of an education in the sciences) but frequently find
the university setting to their detriment. For example, because they tend to
have higher standards, girls often react poorly to the pressure of an excessive
workload and resent more the restrictions they must place on their social life
in order to meet these standards. Girls also equate their scholarly performance
with a personal evaluation of themselves and, as they more often see their
course of study as an end in itself, are more easily discouraged by
disappointments, especially in an atmosphere that encourages competition and
excellence at the expense of collaboration and personal satisfaction.
In the fall 1989 registration at Laval, girls represented
19% of those entered into engineering. To encourage the growth of that number
it is our challenge to create a system that will accept and integrate not only
"ordinary" boys but also "ordinary" girls and their specific concerns.
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