On International Women's Day, we extend our heartfelt appreciation and admiration to the extraordinary women who contribute their diverse skills, dedication, and passion to PGO and the broader geoscience profession.
Within PGO, we are immensely proud of the women who form the backbone of our organization. From our dedicated staff, who ensure the smooth and efficient operation of our regulatory functions, to our invaluable volunteers, who lend their expertise to Council, committees, working groups, and initiatives—your contributions are essential to upholding PGO's public protection mandate. Your commitment to excellence, integrity, and the highest standards of professional practice is truly commendable.
We also recognize the countless women geoscientists who are making significant strides in the field. As professionals in the sector, you are advancing geoscience knowledge, driving innovation, and shaping the future of our industry. Your expertise spans diverse areas, and your work is vital to the sustainable development of our province and beyond.
Crucially, a profession that reflects the diversity of the public it serves is better equipped to understand and address the full spectrum of public safety concerns. Gender parity ensures a wider range of viewpoints are considered when making decisions that impact public safety.
Alicia Kimberley, PGO Councillor and Chair of the Professional Practice Committee, emphasizes: "Diversity is key. You need diversity within a self-regulatory body (SRO) to ensure the organization is considering different perspectives, experiences, and ideas to ultimately make better and more innovative decisions. Representation can be a catalyst to encouraging the next generation of female geoscientists to pursue a career in a historically male-dominated field like STEM."
Building upon this, Mary-Anne Hildebrandt, P.Geo., FGC, Immediate Past President, shares: "Geoscience thrives on a tapestry of perspectives, woven together to protect both the public and the natural environment. By integrating diverse experiences and viewpoints in our technical understanding, we strengthen the profession’s ability to address complex challenges, ensuring greater accountability, transparency, and societal benefit."
We are committed to fostering an environment where all women feel valued, respected, and empowered to reach their full potential. We recognize that gender equality is not just a goal, but a fundamental principle that strengthens our organization and the geosciences profession as a whole. By ensuring women have equal opportunities to lead and contribute, we strengthen our ability to uphold our public protection mandate. A diverse and inclusive profession is a more resilient and effective one.
As the theme for International Women's Day 2025 is "Accelerate Action," PGO Past President, Melanie Siewert, P.Geo. (Limited), FGC, highlights the crucial role that regulators play in achieving parity: “According to the World Economic Forum, it will take roughly five generations to reach full gender parity, if we continue to progress at the current rate. As a regulator, one of PGO's objects is to establish standards of professional ethics. In 2021, PGO took a significant step by publishing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Professional Practice Guidelines, which define inequitable practices and provide examples of inclusive actions to reduce systemic barriers to representative participation and recognition within the profession. These standards set the expectations for professional geoscientists and certificate holders, including evaluating hiring strategies and eliminating pay inequities. Give it a read and let’s take action. Let's see if we can speed up the rate of progress toward parity in geoscience practice. I'd like to see us get there within my time in the practice."
Happy International Women's Day!
