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Creating the Memories and Celebrating the Legacy of the Bold and the Brave: Building the Archives of Women Scientists and Engineers in Canada
BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE: The history of women scientists and engineers in Canada is still in its infancy. This can be largely attributed to their invisibility in traditional and established archives, which collected male records and tended to privilege the life and work of men; but another major obstacle has been these professional women’s inclination to underestimate their own accomplishments, with the result that most did not seek to preserve their papers, and neither did their family, friends and colleagues.
At a time when the call for more women in science and engineering careers resonates strongly within governmental, economic and academic circles, and when there is a strong consensus regarding the benefits of gender equity and increased diversity in these fields, there is a pressing need to provide current and future Canadian women scientists and engineers with an accurate and inspiring understanding of their past, to learn about the lives and accomplishments of those “who came before them”.