On October 29 and 30, 2025, CCWESTT hosted an two-day in-person forum in Montreal, Quebec. This free event was open to the science, engineering, trades and technology (SETT) advocacy community and allies. Attendees included Science, Engineering, Trades, and Technology (SETT) workers, provincial not-for-profits, and academic representatives.
The first day featured the launch of CCWESTT’s Gender Equality Report Card and a panel discussion featuring leaders in systems change. 
The Gender Equality Report Card is a data-driven document illustrating the need for a national retention strategy for improved care structures, pay equity, and safety in learning and working spaces, and more. The Report Card is a tool for advocacy for all workers, employers, not-for-profit organizations, unions, and researchers. It scores each jurisdiction in Canada on their journey to gender equity in SETT. Attendees also received a preview of CCWESTT’s awareness campaign “Honestly, We Need This To Work.” This campaign is live now and will start a national conversation for real change in SETT and beyond. We will share recordings of day one in the coming weeks!
Day two featured a data walk through the report card’s findings, facilitated by Sylvia Cheuy and Myriam Bérubé from the Tamarack Institute. 
At collaborative roundtables, participants discussed the report card findings, recommendations, barriers to collaboration, and developed ideas on engaging their communities. Participants reported feeling the diversity of thoughts in the room allowed them to “[create] powerful action items“ and noted “community is vital for movement.”
CCWESTT learns from participants in forums like these and brings that knowledge into our systemic change work. The learnings from this forum will help shape the remainder of CCWESTT’s current projects, our upcoming Conference in May 2026, and our ongoing work towards creating a system that works for everyone.
This event was offered in part through funding from Women and Gender Equality Canada. We are grateful to our In-Kind sponsors BPW Montreal, Empowered Path Inc, AFFESTIM, Mentorat Quebec, and the NSERC Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering and Chairs for Inclusion in Science and Engineering. Thank you for your generous support!
