Gender Equality Week 2026: STEM Students' National Advisory Council Series Recap
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Women have long been excluded from building careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) despite their interest and expertise.
For Gender Equality Week 2026, At the Root’s STEM Students' National Advisory Council shared their reflections and perspectives through videos, articles and graphics on what gender equality in STEM means to them. All content was published on At the Root Project’s LinkedIn page.
The Leaky Pipeline: Audra Lutterotti, an MSc Student at the University of Lethbridge, created a video about the “leaky pipeline,” a term coined to describe how women in STEM slowly trickle out of the system because of biases and barriers they face. In her work, Audra increases the visibility of women in STEM by dyeing her lab coat, wearing chemistry-themed earrings, using colourful pens, and staying true to herself! Watch the video.
Reflecting on Dr. Gladys West: Altaf Hafiz, a first-year medical student at Queen’s University, recorded a video telling the story of Dr. Gladys West, a groundbreaking mathematician whose precise mathematical modelling of the Earth's shape helped make modern GPS. Watch the video.
Being Underrepresented Within the Underrepresentation: Madiha Waqar, a Computer Science student at Mount Allison University, designed a visual reflection on being a woman in STEM, specifically what it is like to be a woman of colour and underrepresented within the underrepresentation. “Representation gets people in the door. It doesn't guarantee the room makes space for them once they're there.” Read the reflection.
Interview with Dr. Emily Agard: Jordan Auger, a Global Health Master's candidate at McMaster University, interviewed Dr. Emily Agard, founder of SciXchange at Toronto Metropolitan University and leader of the Technovation Girls Toronto Chapter. In the interview, Dr. Agard shared why the real barrier for women in STEM was never a lack of interest but the environment of these fields and what it takes to turn curiosity into pathways forward. Read the interview.
Smallpox & Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: Jennifer Tindall is a Master's student in Global Health at the University of British Columbia and a self-proclaimed infectious-disease history nerd! Jennifer filmed a video to share the story of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who, after witnessing women in Constantinople practice engrafting to prevent the spread of smallpox, brought the practice home to the UK and saved thousands of lives. A reminder that throughout history (and still today) women’s work in science has too often been informal, unpublished, and unnamed. Watch the video.
Malala & STEM Advocacy: Wateen Sadek, a recent Dalhousie University neuroscience graduate, shared a video reflection on how Malala’s advocacy inspired her STEM education and her goal to take her work beyond the lab and influence those too often left behind in science innovation. Watch the video.
The Women of Modern Physics: Jack Walker, a medical physics student at McGill University, created a visual series on “The Women of Modern Physics.” The series features Chien-Shiung Wu, Lise Meitner, and Rosalyn Yalow and reflects on how they’ve shaped the field of physics. View the series.
Who's Considered in the Systems We Design? Ammielle Wambo Becker, a third-year Systems Design Engineering student at the University of Waterloo, closed the series with a video reflection. In the video, Ammielle explains that engineering students spend a lot of time studying why systems fail, and the answer is often simple: designs too often fail the people who weren't considered when they were initially designed. Ammielle asked what would look different if everyone had been included from the start, and how internships and co-ops, where many engineers learn their craft, would change for women and gender-diverse people. Watch the video.
Share Your Voice!
At the Root Project has launched a national survey to better understand sexual harassment in STEM experiential learning. This research will fill a significant knowledge gap by providing national data to advance gender equity and support systems change at the organizational, institutional, and policy levels!
The survey is open from September 1 to October 12 and is available to complete in English and French.
Thank you to our Council members for sharing their voices for this year’s Gender Equality Week! To stay up to date on the work of the At the Root Project and the STEM Students’ National Advisory Council, subscribe to our mailing list.
