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Three dynamic women who have staked out successful careers in the biotechnology industry will inspire your female students to explore new career pathways.Female role models help get this career on the radar of women and girls because they’re able to see someone who looks like them on the job. The video reveals the personal experiences and insights of successful women working in this field. Biotechnology and related industries employ millions of people. Increasing numbers of women are establishing rewarding careers in the traditionally male-dominated biotechnology field. |
Career Options for Women -- Biotechnology:
This 24-minute video features profiles of three women with successful careers in biotechnology:
- Allison Ross, a chemist and research technician who analyzes test samples at a busy lab
- Sylvie Bilodeau-Goeseels, a research scientist tasked with improving cow fertility
- Dia Matheos, Vice President of Research and Development at a biotech firm
Additional information from co-workers and supervisors supplements each job profile.
Meet the role models featured in the Biotechnology video:
Allison: Chemist and Research Technician
In the medical and biotechnology field, analyzing patient samples quickly and accurately - not to mention cost effectively - is critical. Testing software developed for this purpose is a key ingredient of Allison Ross's job as chemist and research assistant for Chenomx Inc. Chenomx designs software, mainly for biotechnology companies in the human health sector.
During university, Allison sampled professional science as an intern for the petroleum industry. Turns out it was the right "chemistry" for a full-time job in biotechnology. The experience she is now getting at Chenomx, integrating health science with software programming, is a great step forward in career growth.
Biotechnology is a challenging field. You need to be hard-working, eager to learn and intellectually curious in order to understand and apply the concepts of science. “I've always enjoyed chemistry. It was my favorite subject in high school, along with the other sciences. I always knew I wanted to do sciences.”
Allison has a number of responsibilities at Chenomx. She looks after the safety of the lab, updates safety references, tests the software, works with the development team to create a database of elements, assists in chemistry research and more.
In chemistry, not only do you need to understand formulas, reactions, elements and their properties, you need the right tools to get the job done. Allison's work would be impossible to complete without the sophisticated array of equipment at her fingertips.
Sylvie: Research Scientist
Research scientist Sylvie Bilodeau-Goeseels works at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Lethbridge Research Centre. Her on-the-job mission is to improve cow fertility and reduce the incidence of embryonic mortality through in vitro fertilization.
Embryonic mortality is one of the factors responsible for reproductive failure which causes major economic loss to beef producers. So far, there are no specific interventions designed to prevent embryonic mortality, other than good management practice. Little is known about numerous reasons for embryonic mortality and the molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of a fertilized egg.
The challenge researchers like Sylvie face today is to find out how embryos develop, what happens at all stages of development, what happens when embryos die, why they die and what can be done about it. “Sometimes you wonder for a long time: "How does this work?" And suddenly you have an answer. This is all very exciting.”
Along with scientific work, Sylvie's job includes business management. In a team of scientists, Sylvie comes up with new projects, proposes them to the government, secures funding, manages resources and publishes results in scientific journals.
Dia: Vice President of Research and Development
When Dia Matheos talks about getting some new genes, she's probably not talking about the kind you wear. Dia is a Vice President of research and development with the biotech firm, Replicor. She leads a team of people and works hands-on, creating DNA products. These are licensed by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for a variety of applications. In the long run, her work benefits patients and increases the cost effectiveness of treatment.
Dia has always been fascinated by sciences in the human health sector. After completing her BA in microbiology and gaining volunteer experience in this field, she was determined to pursue a PhD in biochemistry. She excelled in her doctoral thesis, the topic of which was very much in line with Replicor's research. Dia's professor, also a co-founder of Replicor, was impressed and the company hired Dia full-time.
Science is always evolving. It is difficult to predict what Dia will be doing in two weeks because her future tasks depend on the results she gets today. Her work is always different, which is one reason why Dia finds it so interesting. "What I enjoy most about my job is the fact that it never becomes routine. There's always some sort of excitement."
Video details:
Run time: 24 minutes total, including three segments of approximately 8 minutes each.
Format: DVD. Closed-captioned.
Year: 2006
Note: Videos are interspersed with Canadian salary and labor statistics, which are similar to the numbers in the United States.
Policies: There is a no-return policy on these videos.
Grade level: Middle School, High School, Two-Year College, Four-Year University
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Three dynamic women who have staked out successful careers in the construction industry will inspire your female students to explore new career pathways.Female role models help get this career on the radar of women and girls because they’re able to see someone who looks like them on the job. The video reveals the personal experiences and insights of successful women working in this field. Construction and related industries employ millions of people. Increasing numbers of women are establishing rewarding careers in the traditionally male-dominated construction field. |
Career Options for Women -- Construction:
This 24-minute video features profiles of three women with successful careers in construction:
- Menyui Leung, a welder with experience in manufacturing and shipbuilding
- Suzy Zaric, a restoration carpenter specializing in damage repair
- Luce Gregoire, an electrician who works on lighting and heating equipment
Additional information from co-workers and supervisors supplements each job profile.
Meet the role models featured in the Construction video:
Menyui: Welder
25-year-old Menyui Leung spent two years at Simon Fraser University before she took a welding course at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Following successful completion of the course, Menyui worked as a welder building large manufacturing equipment. When that job wrapped up, she went on vacation and was away barely a week when a job offer with Vancouver Shipyards came in. One aluminum welding course later and two and a half years work experience, Menyui is set up!
Being a woman in a very male-dominated trade such as welding can have its moments. But Menyui’s approach to the job environment is as consistent as the welds she so skillfully performs. Menyui thinks the nice thing about welding is that it has a variety of applications, from heavy engineered industrial jobs to projects that are very artistic due to their aesthetics and functionality. She thinks welding is a skill that both women and men can excel at.
One of the big benefits of Menyui’s job -- like many trade and technology careers -- is the income. An experienced journey welder can make a great living depending on the company and job. There can also be excellent medical and dental benefits, a pension plan and regular hours.
Menyui has mastered her welding skills to the point where she is preparing to start a studio to explore the creative side of welding. It’s all part of her ongoing involvement with a variety of artistic endeavours.
Suzy: Restoration Carpenter
Susy Zaric works as an apprentice carpenter for McBride Restorations, a construction company that specializes in water damage repair. She removes waterdamaged wood, does clean up, assists carpenters and measures/cuts wood.
For Susy, the rewards of her job come from the challenges encountered when she works in restorations. She feels proud when she drives by a building that she fixed. She fell in love with the work when she started watching "This Old House". Her father was also a painter and a decorator.
After completing high school, Susy worked for eight years in an office environment before entering the Women in Trades program in carpentry at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). She was very shocked to hear that there is a 99% failure rate for women in this field. While she was in the program, her instructor posted a job fax from McBride Restorations. She applied and -- a week out of school -- started working there.
Susy's advice to other young women interested in the field is: "Go for it!" She says "Now that I'm doing this, I don't know why there aren't more women in this industry. It's a lot easier than I thought it was going to be."
Luce: Electrician
Luce Gregoire is a first year apprentice electrician. Her job involves making conduit runs, connecting lines, drilling, putting lines in conduits, transformers, motors, switches, lights, heating, and thermostats. In the past, she has fixed street lights, traffic lights, and transformers.
Luce Gregoire's mother wasn't shocked when Luce switched careers from cinema arts to trades electrician. In fact, Luce received a lot of support and encouragement. It wasn't a snap decision. Luce took an 8-week orientation course to see what trade sparked her interest the most. Today, Luce is completely wired into her career, working on transformers, motors, switches, lights, and heating equipment. To find her present job, Luce called some contractors after receiving her diploma in electricity and construction.
“So far, it hasn't been too physical but you need to be in shape, you need to be good with your hands, and be logical, which can be frustrating when you're not sure about something.”
Video details:
Run time: 24 minutes total, including three segments of approximately 8 minutes each.
Format: DVD. Closed-captioned.
Year: 2006
Note: Videos are interspersed with Canadian salary and labor statistics, which are similar to the numbers in the United States.
Policies: There is a no-return policy on these videos.
Grade level: Middle School, High School, Two-Year College, Four-Year University
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Three dynamic women who have staked out successful careers in the culinary industry will inspire your female students to explore new career pathways.Female role models help get this career on the radar of women and girls because they’re able to see someone who looks like them on the job. The video reveals the personal experiences and insights of successful women working in this field. Culinary and related industries employ millions of people. Increasing numbers of women are establishing rewarding careers in the traditionally male-dominated culinary field. |
Career Options for Women -- Culinary:
This 24-minute video features profiles of three women with successful careers in the culinary industry:
- Josee Bagdadi, a gourmet butcher
- Heather Irvine, a commercial baker specializing in artisan breads
- Lisa Gardin, an apprentice chef who plans to open her own restaurant one day
Additional information from co-workers and supervisors supplements each job profile.
Meet the role models featured in the Culinary video:
Josee: Gourmet Butcher
Josee Bagdadi is a gourmet butcher at the Place Du Parc Metro, a food store. Josee debones, cuts, slices and grinds meat. She prepares rump roasts and fancy/expensive types of meat. She also advises customers on how to cook meats and gives them recipes.
Josee used to work at the cash register and deli counter. She noticed a posting for a trainee butcher. She took the opportunity and enrolled in a 9 month butcher course and received her diploma in butcher sciences.
According to Josee, it is generally difficult to find good butchers. She feels that women have a lot to offer in this field. Josee admits that in a male-dominated career like this, you have to be tough emotionally to succeed as a female butcher. However, she gets along really well with her coworkers and in particular, the many customers that value her work. Not surprisingly, it is a particular bonus to understand cooking.
One of Josee's clients is a doctor, who, seeing her dexterity, suggested she become a surgeon. Older women congratulate her. Josee loves knowing that she helped clients, and that they had a great meal. She knows her regulars and what they want.
Heather: Commercial Baker
Heather Irvine is a baker's helper for Terra Breads. Her job is to bake loaves of bread, pastries, and focaccia. She really enjoys every part of her job, especially the end result! She says, “For anyone who enjoys working with food, to see the end result so quickly is really great. Also, it is wonderful to see people enjoying the results of what you just did.”
Sometimes the hours are a bit tiring for Heather, but she doesn't have much of a problem with it, as she can usually adjust her sleeping pattern quite easily. “It's hard work but very rewarding. If you like working with food it is a great job.”
Heather's education included a ten-month baking program at a community college. Her current wage will increase with more experience. There are also further certifications that Heather can earn to advance her career.
Heather believes that this is a good industry to be in. There are many opportunities for baking fresh breads in restaurants, hotels, cruise ships, and catering companies. And she feels that artisan breads will never be replaced by automated factories. Heather's future aspirations include operating a catering business from her home.
Lisa: Apprentice Chef
Lisa Gardin is in year first year as an apprentice chef at a hotel. Her duties include working at the pastry station preparing desserts. She also makes complimentary cookies for the hotel rooms and biscotti for the cappuccino bars. For the afternoon tea service between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm she prepares seven different petit fours. For dinner, she makes dessert soufflés.
Lisa found her interest in cooking when she took part in a student co-op program in 11th grade. After completing the program, the chef hired her. Her apprenticeship involves taking college courses for one month each year at a community college. Lisa admits that the food industry is not easy to be in - you either love it or hate it! She currently has a great chef, but often finds herself as the only female in the kitchen. There are various food industry associations and some working environments are unionized. Lisa is paid for 40 hours of work, but she often works 60.
Once Lisa completes her apprenticeship, she plans to travel throughout Europe. Ultimately, she would like to open her own restaurant - every chef's dream!
Video details:
Run time: 24 minutes total, including three segments of approximately 8 minutes each.
Format: DVD. Closed-captioned.
Year: 2006
Note: Videos are interspersed with Canadian salary and labor statistics, which are similar to the numbers in the United States.
Policies: There is a no-return policy on these videos.
Grade level: Middle School, High School, Two-Year College, Four-Year University
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Three dynamic women who have staked out successful careers in the e-commerce industry will inspire your female students to explore new career pathways.Female role models help get this career on the radar of women and girls because they’re able to see someone who looks like them on the job. This video reveals the personal experiences and insights of successful women working in this field. E-commerce and related industries employ millions of people. Increasing numbers of women are establishing rewarding careers in the traditionally male-dominated e-commerce field. |
Career Options for Women -- E-Commerce:
This 24-minute video features profiles of three women with successful careers in e-commerce:
- Kerry Sizer, a programmer who has helped shape her company’s online business model
- Sheila Zoghaib, a webmaster who administers multimedia learning websites
- Barbara-Judith Caron, a web consultant tasked with staying on top of current trends and tastes in website design
Additional information from co-workers and supervisors supplements each job profile.
Meet the role models featured in the E-Commerce video:
Kerry: Programmer
Programming was not high on Kerry Sizer’s list of to do’s when she first began her career search. However, as she worked her way through a multitude of computer programming courses, she learned to appreciate the finesse and creativity the job offers.
Essentially, programming is a series of commands written to make a certain action occur. Because there are several different programming languages, programmers generally choose a specialty.
Like many e-businesses, the company Kerry works for has focused its business model to meet the changing opportunities in e-commerce. Together, they’re programmed for success! “The people I work with are the main reason I like my job. Also, there’s a great feeling of accomplishment when you work hard for a project and it’s finally done.”
E-commerce is an important aspect of the Internet as it allows people to exchanges goods and services immediately with no barriers of time or distance. Any time of the day or night you can go online and buy just about anything you want.
How much programmers get paid depends on where they work. Larger firms pay higher salaries, but smaller firms offer more responsibilities and faster promotions. In the future Kerry wants to get into project management and become a team leader.
Sheila: Webmaster
Sheila Zoghaib, a webmaster for a company called GCL Multimedia, creates and maintains multimedia learning websites for a variety of clientele. As the webmaster, Sheila builds the structure of a website and fills in the written, interactive and graphic content. She also maintains all the sites she builds.
Sheila’s work is very detail oriented and her end product is right up there on the world wide web for all to see. Getting it right takes a strong mix of education, experience and creativity. “Other women would like this job because they can use their sense of creativity and work with the public.”
Sheila has always been inspired by computer science. After taking a programming course, she landed her current job. Skills needed to be a webmaster include a strong knowledge of HTML and Java programming along with training in graphic arts. Sheila plans to stay in her field for a long time because she likes the fast pace of technology. It’s always a challenge to stay on the cutting edge.
Barbara-Judith: Web Consultant
Barbara-Judith Caron's job didn't exist when she was in high school. That's how new it is. She is a web consultant specializing in the design of commercial Internet sites.
What keeps Barbara-Judith interested is the fact that it's constantly moving and changing. That's an aspect of e-commerce that Barbara-Judith finds different from other industries. It's evolving so fast that there's been no time to establish a hierarchy in the workplace. One of the things that Barbara-Judith loves best about her chosen field is that it's so new, and technology is always changing. “If you can keep up with the technological advances and keep your skills up to date, then this field is wide open for anyone who's interested.”
Barbara-Judith doesn't feel that gender is an issue with the Internet in general. In her case, since most of her work is done through the Internet, by the time she meets a client, she's already proven her abilities. Barbara-Judith’s greatest challenges are not only to keep up with the technological advances, but also to keep up with current trends and tastes in web site designs. It also helps to know something about consumer psychology.
Video details:
Run time: 24 minutes total, including three segments of approximately 8 minutes each.
Format: DVD. Closed-captioned.
Year: 2006
Note: Videos are interspersed with Canadian salary and labor statistics, which are similar to the numbers in the United States.
Policies: There is a no-return policy on these videos.
Grade level: Middle School, High School, Two-Year College, Four-Year University
Three dynamic women who have staked out successful careers in the engineering industry will inspire your female students to explore new career pathways.
Female role models help get this career on the radar of women and girls because they're able to see someone who looks like them on the job. This video reveals the personal experiences and insights of successful women working in this field.
Engineering and related industries employ millions of people. Increasing numbers of women are establishing rewarding careers in the traditionally male-dominated engineering field.
Career Options for Women -- Engineering:
This 24-minute video features profiles of three women with successful careers in engineering:
- Elizabeth Nethery, a product support engineer who tests and customizes prosthetics
- Elisabeth Paul, a computer software engineer in the aerospace industry
- Daisy Lung, an environmental engineer who conducts site assessments for real estate clients
Additional information from co-workers and supervisors supplements each job profile.
Meet the role models featured in the Engineering video:
Elizabeth: Product Support Engineer
Which people help to influence your decisions the most? Elizabeth Nethery credits one of her 12th grade teachers. Although English was her best subject, her teacher encouraged Elizabeth to pursue an engineering education. It's a decision Elizabeth has never regretted. With a degree in physics engineering, Elizabeth earns a good salary and enjoys a high level of job satisfaction. She helps people regain the use of their limbs with prosthetics.
Elizabeth was drawn to this field because she really wanted to work in an engineering role that creates a product that helps people.
When asked what it takes to make it in a non-traditional career, Elizabeth replied: "Dream big. You can do anything; you just have to find what you want to do. Don't be afraid to try, you'll never know if you like it until you try and you can always change careers, especially if you can make a decent living while you're doing it. There's a lot to be said for being in a field where the pay is good and you are in demand."
Elisabeth: Computer Software Engineer
Software engineer Elisabeth Paul has a job that is out of this world! She designs software that is used by the Canada Arm on international space projects.
Initially, Elisabeth was encouraged to enter computer engineering by her mother, who believed that the future lay in this career choice. Elisabeth took her advice. Elisabeth's hard work has resulted in an excellent career and a good life right here on Earth.
Elisabeth feels that the most important personal quality to have if you want to be an engineer is a sense of curiosity. Things are always moving so quickly in the software environment, so it is important to be continually keeping up.
Daisy: Environmental Engineer
Daisy Lung works for Next Environmental Inc., an environmental engineering consulting firm. She is a part of the Site Investigation Team, which investigates potential environmental concerns at different properties. Then, a strategy is created to clean up the contamination so that land can be used again.
Her career path began after high school, when she went into the engineering program at the University of British Columbia. At the end of the first year, she chose to go into the Bio-Resource Engineering program. She graduated in 1998, with a bachelor's degree. A few months after graduating from university, Daisy completed a job search program, which involved finding an eight-week job placement at a company in her field of study. She approached Next and a few other companies, and ended up choosing Next Environmental Inc. to do her voluntary placement. After the eight weeks, she was officially hired by Next.
For those who are interested in pursuing a similar career, Daisy recommends talking to someone in the field. Also, if you have an opportunity to do a placement for career prep in the field, then do it. Look into the university calendars and make sure you take the necessary courses to get into the engineering program. Today's rapid technological revolution means that engineers will be continually upgrading their education for many years to come.
"It's interesting to see how things work and how it is designed in engineering. Also, I like having the chance to work both inside and outside of the office. Staring into a computer, day after day, all day long is not much fun."
Video details:
Run time: 24 minutes total, including three segments of approximately 8 minutes each.
Format: DVD. Closed-captioned.
Year: 2006
Note: Videos are interspersed with Canadian salary and labor statistics, which are similar to the numbers in the United States.
Policies: There is a no-return policy on these videos.
Grade level: Middle School, High School, Two-Year College, Four-Year University
