McMaster IT concludes Women in Tech Summer Series: Enriching and inspiring conversations with Higher Ed CIOs from across Canada

The McMaster Office of AVP and CTO concluded the Women in Tech Summer Series which was launched in July 2022 with the goal of further highlighting and distinguishing women in the higher education IT sector.

Five female CIOs from universities across Canada joined McMaster AVP and CTO Gayleen Gray for enriching and inspiring virtual conversations open to all in the Canadian higher education IT community.

During each session, the leaders discussed pressing workplace topics such as gender-based expectations, pandemic fatigue, mentorship and support, and their sources of inspiration. All session videos are now available via the links below.

The Women in Tech Summer Series was a great success thanks to our fabulous guest speakers’ participation, insights and advice, and live attendees’ questions.

“These conversations were empowering, informed and inspiring,” said Gray. “Distinguishing these CIOs, sharing their experiences and perspectives, and celebrating their success not only broadens the audience’s understanding of Higher Ed IT, it inspires women in our sector in particular.”

The series connected McMaster with the following institutions and their CIOs:

• Jody Couch | CIO and AVP for Information Technology Services at Dalhousie University

Watch the conversation with Jody Couch here.

• Nela Petkovic | CIO at Wilfrid Laurier University

Watch the conversation with Nela Petkovic here.

• Sandeep Sidhu | CIO at Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Watch the conversation with Sandeep Sidhu here.

• France Bigras | Associate VP, Information Systems & CIO, Instructional and Information Technology Services at Concordia University

Watch the conversation with France Bigras here.

• Shari Baranuik | Associate Vice-President, ICT and CIO at University of Saskatchewan

Watch the conversation with Shari Baraniuk here.

In addition to sharing their own journey, guest speakers shared their hobbies, favorite books, and their leadership and engagement approach. These conversations tackled some of the many challenges women in the IT sector face at both the professional and personal level. As Sandeep Sidhu, CIO at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, said: “Tough times make us stronger, so this is the time to get creative. Get out there and challenge the norm. Don’t make barriers stop you or get you to give up, this is your opportunity to rethink and break it apart.”

The Women in Tech Summer Series initiative adds to previous efforts led by Gayleen Gray and McMaster IT to recognize women tech changemakers in McMaster University community. The “McMaster Women in Tech” initiative, launched in 2020 by the Office of the AVP and CTO, highlighted faculty members, students, staff, and community leaders who have been using technology innovatively across diverse areas including start-ups, education, IT security, equity, and research.

For the Fall 2022 term, McMaster Women in Tech will resume with conversations focused on female IT leaders within McMaster IT, including:

• Andrea Oliver | Director of Enterprise Applications & Data Systems, UTS
• Tracy Dallaire | Director of Information Security Services, UTS
• Paula Brown-Hackett | Director of Campus Infrastructure Systems, UTS

Further information and details about the upcoming events will be shared with the McMaster community soon. Stay tuned!