February 11th marks the International Day of Women and Girls in Science – a day to promote and encourage gender equality in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
In celebration of this awareness day, the Miss Margaret Robins Archives of Women’s College Hospital (WCH) is pleased to announce the launch of its new virtual exhibit entitled “Women in Medical Research: A History of Innovation.” This online project was developed with funding from the Digital Museums Canada investment program. It was created for an audience of young women enrolled in secondary school (grades 9-12) to inspire and encourage a new generation of women to explore STEM in school or as a future career path.
“Women in Medical Research” shares the inspiring stories of the trailblazing female scientists at WCH who made valuable contributions to Canadian medical research during the first half of the 20th century. This exhibit celebrates their accomplishments using historical photographs, documents, film recordings, and audio interviews from the WCH Archives, as well as explores the challenges that they faced as early women in STEM.
This virtual exhibit features the achievements of many WCH pioneers including Dr. Gladys Boyd, Dr. Helen Milburn, Dr. Marion Hilliard, Dr. Eva MacDonald, Dr. Florence McConney, Dr. Hilda Roberts, Dr. Henrietta Banting, Dr. Elizabeth Forbes, and Dr. Ricky Schachter.
WCH Archives would like to acknowledge the contributions of the students from Centennial College’s Museum and Cultural Management program who helped to develop inspiring content, as well as explore the work of current female scientists at Women’s College Research Institute.
The history of women in STEM in Canada is full of stories of female determination and perseverance. Although women have made progress towards gender equality, much work is still needed to increase access to and participation of women and girls in STEM. “Women in Medical Research” aims to provide motivating and engaging stories of WCH’s historical female role models in STEM to inspire the next generation of female scientists in Canada.
“Women in Medical Research: A History of Innovation” can be viewed at here.