Session: Inspiring the next generation of women as STEM Leaders
Many business leaders say that technology holds the key to economic recovery post-pandemic. But, while technology, and STEM more broadly, may play a critical role, there remains a significant problem threatening the potential of its workforce - the persistent and widening gender gap. For far too long, women have been underrepresented in STEM, and the ongoing pandemic has only exacerbated this gender gap. The good news? The pandemic has presented an opportunity to re-energize progress towards gender equality in STEM, which starts by making STEM more inclusive for the next generation.
Bio
Jennifer Flanagan is a go-to thought leader and advocate for youth STEM education in Canada. As CEO of Actua, Canada’s largest STEM outreach organization, Jennifer is known as an expert on how to equip Canadian youth with the skills and knowledge they will need for the future of work.
Committed to advancing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, Jennifer's industry-leading work specializes in programs that engage underserved and underrepresented youth populations and addressing the gender gap in STEM. Each year, the Actua network engages over 350,000 youth, including 150,000 girls and 40,000 First Nations, Inuit and Metis youth, in over 500 communities, in every province and territory.
Jennifer is a long-time advocate for the empowerment of girls and young women having served on the Boards of the Girls Action Foundation, the International Network for Women in Engineering and Science, and the Canadian Women’s Foundation. In addition, Jennifer has twice been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, is the recipient of a Y Women of Distinction Award (Education and Training) and was named one of Ottawa’s Top Forty Under 40. In 2016, Jennifer was chosen as the RBC Women Entrepreneur of the Year in the social change category.