Goal 5 - Institutional Stewardship Initiatives
Institutional Stewardship Initiatives
Affiliated Child Care
Access to child care is disproportionately beneficial to women due to the unbalanced share of unpaid labour taken on by mothers. The University of Alberta is affiliated with six non-profit, accredited child care centres including Garneau and University Early Learning Centre, Students Union and Community Early Learning Centre, University Infant Toddler Centre, and others, that provide on-campus and near-campus care options for children as young as one month. These affiliated childcare facilities are accessible to students and staff.
Student access to the affiliated childcare facilities allows recent mothers to attend university courses. Graduate students can apply for the GSA Child Care Grants which help offset or cover the cost of child care for graduate students at the University of Alberta. Students and staff can access additional financial support through the Alberta Child Care Subsidy to help subsidize the cost of childcare.
Maternity and Paternity Leave
The University of Alberta has an established maternity and paternity leave policy that is available to the various staff categories at the University of Alberta including Support Staff, Academic Staff, Management and Professional Staff, Post-Doctoral Fellows, and Graduate Students. A portion of maternity and/or paternity leave may be paid, depending on the various staff categories. University of Alberta employees can access additional federal financial support, such as Employment Insurance (EI) during their leave.
The option to take maternity and/or paternity leave supports women’s participation as employees and students at the University of Alberta.
Non-Discrimination Policy
The University of Alberta adheres to a non-discrimination policy that fosters and protects a respectful environment for work, study and living and supports dignity and equity for all members of the University of Alberta. The non-discrimination policy protects individuals, including women, transgender people, and gender-diverse people from discrimination based on gender and gender identities.
Meet five young changemakers who are driving gender equality in health care
Five trainees from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry (FoMD) have been named Top 30 Under 30 by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation (ACGC) for their work to encourage gender equality in their communities and around the world.
Access, Mentorship, and Academic Supports for Women
The University of Alberta tracks the rates at which students graduate on time. Over the past five years, graduation rates for female undergraduate students has increased from 75% in 2019 to 77% in 2023. Comparatively, male undergraduate students' graduation rates have increased from 67% in 2019 to 69% in 2023.
The University of Alberta offers various programs and access schemes for women which encourage women's applications in underrepresented subjects, and supports their success and graduation rates. The University of Alberta offers various scholarships for women and facilitates mentoring programs for women including UA-WiSE, WISEST, the Choices Conference, and more. Read more about these programs and scholarships below.
Scholarships
The University of Alberta offers various scholarships for women to support their participation and success across campus. Such scholarships include the Scheffer Scholarship for Women in Engineering, the Diane Reader Jones Award for Women in Computing Science, and the Edmonton Chapter Executive Women International Scholarship in Business.
Mentorship for women in STEM
University of Alberta Women in Science and Engineering (UA-WiSE) is a student group that supports all undergraduate students underrepresented in STEM fields. Women in Science, Engineering & Research (WISER) is a group of graduate students and early-career professionals who support the retention and advancement of women and underrepresented groups in STEM.
Together, they run a mentorship program to connect students with mentors in academia and industry. This unique, eight-month program brings together mentorship trios of one undergrad student, one graduate student and one experienced professional. Mentors help develop students’ professional skills, such as professional conduct, negotiation and healthy work-life balance.
WISEST Summer Research Program
Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science & Technology (WISEST) empowers women to seek out opportunities in STEM fields. WISEST’s Summer Research Program provides grade 11 female and non-binary students summer jobs in STEM fields. It also provides young men with placements in nursing, nutrition and human ecology. These are paid, six-week positions in some of the University of Alberta’s top research labs.
Choices Conference
Each year, 600 Grade 6 girls and their teachers come to the Choices Conference to explore the worlds of science and engineering. Teams of up to four girls from each school, plus their teacher or principal, spend the day at the University of Alberta, challenging their ideas about engineers and scientists and developing their creativity, sense of wonder and teamwork skills.
Young Indigenous Women’s Circle of Leadership
The Young Indigenous Women's Circle of Leadership assists young Indigenous women ages 10-16 in their journeys to reclaim their ancestral Cree language, knowledge and spirituality. It is the only Cree immersion youth program in Alberta. Small groups of participants attend a summer day camp based at the university, learn Cree language and meet Indigenous professors and peers.
Department of Women's and Gender Studies Students' Association
The Women’s and Gender Studies Students’ Association (WGSSA) exists to promote Women’s and Gender Studies to the greater university community and to connect members to each, as well as the greater university and local community. Our members foster an inclusive community which highlights the need for intersectionality within academia and governance spaces, and fights for equality on campus.