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club of the year in 2023
Promoting Opportunities for Women in Engineering (POWE) is a philanthropic [[Clubs|group]] at McGill University under Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS).
'''POWE’s main goals are:'''
* To enlighten everyone about the important contributions and general role of women in the engineering field
* To create a positive and friendly environment safe space where fellow female engineers women and feminine-identifying gender minorities in engineering can socialize and seek support
* To promote inclusion and diversity in engineering in all our activities
==History==
A women-in-engineering committee was initially founded in September 1989 as a group put together by the Faculty of Engineering designed to discuss the barriers to access that existed for gender minorities in engineering.
On December 6, 1989, fourteen female engineering students were murdered in the École Polytechnique massacre, one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history. Since then and to this day, POWE collects signatures from students and faculty members who stand in solidarity with the victims and who stand against gender-based violence and discrimination in engineering.
This jarring event shaped the need for women-in-engineering committee as a student group. In response to the senseless act of violence, students officially came together in September 1990 to form the group named POWE that would lift the barriers to access and support the role of gender minorities in engineering. The group was initially student committee in the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS), and later gained more independence as a club in the EUS. We have since developed impactful outreach and professional development portfolios that continue to encourage women and feminine-identifying gender minorities to strive in their field of study, while maintaining a community that can stand together as a voice for gender minority engineering students.
The first POWE Speed Networking event took place in 2010, which marked 20 years after the group's founding. The first SymPOWEsium will take place in the 2020-2021 academic year to mark 30 years after the group's founding.
==Events==
[[File:SpeedMentoringPOWE Speed Mentoring.JPGjpg|thumb|left|220px|Speed Mentoring Event, Fall 2019]]
===Professional and Academic Events===
====Speed Mentoring====
Speed Mentoring is an annual POWE event that takes place during the fall semester where we invite around 15 professionals and roughly 35 students to have fast-paced yet stimulating discussions in small groups. These conversations allow students to understand current industry professionals’ experience as a woman in the industry, their career trajectory, and get quick mentorship and guidance.
====Speed Networking====
This is our popular annual group-networking event that takes place at the start of the winter semester and is filled with career advice and fast-paced discussions between professionals and students. This event aims to provide guidance, advice, and knowledge to current engineering students. Professionals share their experiences regarding diversity, discuss challenges especially about equity and their own career journeys. Students will have the chance to make meaningful connections with industry representatives in order to further their own personal and professional growth, and obtain a stronger sense of what comes after university. ====Office Tours====Throughout the year, POWE is able to bring groups of students to visit the offices of industry-leading companies in Montreal. This allows students to learn more about various industries in an immersive environment and gain valuable contacts to expand their networks. These tours aim to expose students to a wide variety of possible career paths with the hope of encouraging feminine-identifying gender minority students to remain within the engineering discipline after graduation. In the past, POWE has visited Medtronics, CSA (Canadian Space Agency), Pfizer, Pepsi Co., IREQ (Hydro-Quebec Research Institute), Genetec, Rio Tinto, l'Oreal Canada, McKinsey and Company, and many more!
====Participation in External Conferences====
====SymPOWEsium====
This 2-day conference for women and feminine-indentifying gender minority undergraduate students includes many networking and career counselling opportunities for women to gain a keen understanding of their field of study and what to expect after graduation. Our goal through the annual Women in Engineering SymPOWEsium is to encourage, inspire, support and celebrate feminine-indentifying professionals and soon-to-be professionals in primarily male-dominated fields. SymPOWEsium will be launched for the first time in March 2021 and will include many professional development events, including the following:
====POWE Conference====
POWE’s annual Conference invites over 135 high school students from the Montreal and surrounding area to visit McGill for a day to experience a microcosm of what it means to be a McGill engineering student. This conference takes place during McGill’s winter semester every year. The full day conference involves a keynote speaker, lab tours, student and professional panels, and concludes with a design competition. Year after year, we receive enormously positive feedback from both participating teachers and students!
===Social and Community Involvement Events===
====EmPOWEr Mentorship Program====
The EmPOWEr mentorship program pairs incoming women and feminine-identifying gender minorities engineering students with current McGill engineering students on the basis of similar fields of study and similar academic backgrounds. This mentorship initiative allows incoming students to have a person to contact with any questions they may have before school begins and allows them to get a taste of university life in the summer before they start school.
== Executive Team==
<tabs container="width:600px800px" >
<tab name="Current">
{| class="wikitable sortable alternating"
|+ 2023-2024 Executive Team
|-
! Position:
! Name:
|-
|Co-President
|Anna Dove-McFalls
|-
|Co-President
|AnnaMaria Zubieta
|-
|VP Branding
|Jessica Coulson
|-
|VP Conference
|Jordan Loder
|-
|VP External
|Anna Donova
|-
|VP Finance
|Amélie Barsoum
|-
|VP Internal
|Zoya Malhi
|-
|VP Outreach
|Michelle Lee
|-
|VP Social Media
|Bianca Lamarche
|-
|VP Sponsorship
|Iris Sun
|-
|Community Director
|Isabella Vignuzzi
|-
|Merch & Photography Director
|Serena Kim
|-
|}
</tab>
<tab name="2022-2023">
{| class="wikitable sortable alternating"
|+ 2022-2023 Executive Team
|-
! Position:
! Name:
|-
|Co-President
|Yasmine Laferrière
|-
|Co-President
|Melanie Rodger
|-
|VP Branding
|Hitaishi Dhoowooah
|-
|VP Conference
|AnnaMaria Zubieta
|-
|VP External
|Shaza Ghawanmeh
|-
|VP Finance
|Amélie Barsoum
|-
|VP Internal
|Mona Kalaoun
|-
|VP Outreach
|Ghia El-Zoubeir
|-
|VP Social Media
|Anna Dove-McFalls
|-
|VP Sponsorship
|Serena Kim
|-
|Community Director
|Anna Donova
|-
|Photography Director
|Katia Hwang
|-
|}
</tab>
<tab name="2021-2022">
{| class="wikitable sortable alternating"
|+ 2021-2022 Executive Team
|-
! Position:
! Name:
|-
|Co-President
|Julia Strauss
|-
|Co-President
|Lakshmi Roy
|-
|VP Branding
|Paola Prado
|-
|VP Conference
|Laurence Peinturier
|-
|VP External
|Ruolin Zhang
|-
|VP Finance
|Sofia Dieguez
|-
|VP Internal
|Yasmine Laferrière
|-
|VP Outreach
|Ashley Scappaticci
|-
|VP Social Media
|Purba Sarkar
|-
|VP Sponsorship
|Stephanie Kirichu
|-
|Community Director
|Katia Hwang
|-
|Photography Director
|Melanie Rodger
|-
|}
</tab>
<tab name="2020-2021">
{| class="wikitable sortable alternating"
|+ 2020-2021 Executive Team
</tab>
</tabs>
==Fun Facts==
* The annual POWE Conference was postponed in 2020 due to a snowstorm
* POWE was awarded EUS Club of the Year in 2015 and 2023
* POWE received the [https://www.mcgill.ca/engineering/initiatives/e-idea/equity-diversity-and-inclusivity-awards Preston Phipps Diversity & Equity Award] in 2019
[[File:Preston Phipps Diversity & Equity Award 2019.jpg|thumb|200px|2019-2020 Co-President Diana Serra accepting the Preston Phipps Diversity & Equity Award in 2019]]
==POWE Feedback Form==
If you would like to provide us with feedback, comments or suggestions for our current and prospective events and initiatives, please contact us directly at powe@mcgilleus.ca or submit your comments through the following anonymous and confidential [https://forms.gle/scbsHfN3iewp5wQo9 feedback form here]. This form is checked on a weekly basis by POWE’s current president(s) and all feedback will be addressed in an appropriate and timely manner.
[[Category:Clubs]]