Member Spotlight | Louise Wilkinson Board Chair iWIST
Louise Wilkinson, Board Chair iWIST
When did you join or learn about iWIST?
I knew about iWIST long before I moved to the Island. In 2016 I began my tenure on the SCWIST board of directors while living in Vancouver. The organizations had mutual connections, and whenever they were looking for mentors for their twice-yearly mentorship program, iWIST members always showed enthusiasm for engaging with the next generation of talent.
Why are you a volunteer Chair of iWIST?
Despite my technical background, I self-identify as a generalist - someone with just about enough knowledge to be dangerous in many areas of business, and enough skill to know how to connect the right people together to create a successful outcome. Combining my skills with a passion for helping other women in STEM thrive, and I think it becomes an obvious match for me to lead an organization like iWIST. Some parts of the role can be challenging however, such as public speaking - as an extroverted introvert, too much ‘socializing’ can be mentally draining for me, so that’s why I love surrounding myself with talented women who can shine alongside me.
Why does this organization matter to you and to the community?
After moving to the island in 2021, I knew I needed to find a new community to feel a part of, but with the pandemic still fresh in our minds, I wasn’t ready to start ‘mingling’ yet. It was a lonely time for so many of us, but especially for me as a recent transplant to the island. Eventually, as life started to go back to normal, it was time to start making connections again, and in joining iWIST, I found so many welcoming faces, women who turn up to support other women, women with mad-crazy skills and expertise in really cool stuff who felt comfortable and excited to tell you about it! To me, that’s exactly where I wanna be - surrounded by smart and geeky women :)
What is your background in STEM?
I have a first class honours degree in Applied Chemistry from Manchester Metropolitan University, which I obtained through a part-time study program which took 6 years to complete while working up to 60 hours a week on rolling shifts as an industrial laboratory analyst. I later on went back to study for my Masters in Business Administration with Simon Fraser University when I realised that my leadership skills were becoming more important than my technical skills.
On your own career journey how important was it to have/provide peer support? Why?
I think one of the reasons I am so passionate about finding peer support from other women is because for so long in my career, I didn’t have it. I’m from a generation where I was ‘the first in the family’ to go to university, and as one of only 6(?) women in a cohort of 80 chemistry undergraduates, there really weren’t many of us to create a peer group with! Even in my working life, I was ‘the only woman’ in my department for the first 8 years of my career. Those early years were difficult, and I often asked myself if I belonged.
It was only after I pivoted into a management role back in 2008 that I really saw the benefits of peer mentoring and how it can help in so many ways. I became a diversity champion and definitely exhibited biases towards hiring the more diverse candidates when all other qualities were equal and to create the internal support networks for my team that I never had.
Recognizing the importance of peer mentorship was truly the precursor to my formal work on gender equity through board tenures and working towards my Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional (CCIP) designation.
What do you see as an opportunity to support women in STEM?
The biggest challenge for gender equality in STEM is described as ‘the leaky pipeline’ (link to a research paper on it for the science geeks reading), a metaphor which describes how women and minority groups drop out of STEM education and career paths at a significantly higher rate than men. As well as the serious work of addressing systemic biases, there are fun things we can all do to ‘stem’ (pun intended) the leak, such as promoting the brilliance of women in STEM, and creating networks of women where they can be their authentic selves and build non-transactional relationships with peers. iWIST does a lot of work on both of these, which is why I love being involved.
What is the difference between iWIST and other sector-based associations?
I think that the main difference is that you can walk in the door of an iWIST event and talk to someone with a career that is so drastically different to your own, and yet you can still find inspiration and connection. The diversity of backgrounds creates a feeling of friendship, rather than competition, and opens the door for conversations you never thought you might be a part of.
What do you say when someone asks you about iWIST?
I tell them to come along to one of our events! They’re always fun.
Who inspires you as a volunteer leader?
Other women making waves in the same space. My Instagram feed is full of similar organizations who support women’s rights. Recommendations for a follow include @stem_moms_project, @steministacollective, @gwinstem, @femalequotient and @iwist_org, obviously :)
Anything extra you’d like to share?
In tribute to the iWIST board team, I just want to thank each of them for their ongoing passion and commitment - "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
“With iWIST I found so many welcoming faces, women who turn up to support other women, women with mad-crazy skills and expertise in cool stuff who felt comfortable and excited to tell you about it!”
Louise Wilkinson