Why Stay?

Many studies have looked at the obstacles women and girls face in engineering and technology and reasons they leave, ranging from pay disparities to harassment. Our speakers took a different perspective: Why do they stay?

Save

Overview

Air Date: March 11, 2020

Season: 2020

Episode: 1

Speakers: Montana Wilson (MTE Consultants), Selda Gunsel (Royal Dutch Shell)

Many studies have looked at the obstacles women and girls face in engineering and technology and reasons they leave, ranging from pay disparities to harassment. The 2020 Global Marathon kicked off with a different perspective: Why do they stay? What are the common factors that help women persist and thrive in the engineering profession?

Our speakers first shared their stories of perseverance and tactics to defy expectations, believe in themselves to successfully overcome challenges, and advance, and then joined us for a live Q&A session.

About the speakers

Montana Wilson, Division Manager Civil and Geotechnical Engineering
MTE Consultants Inc.

Montana Wilson has over a dozen years of experience providing geotechnical investigations and civil engineering for municipal, land, and site development projects across Ontario. As Manager of MTE’s Civil and Geotechnical Engineering Stratford Divisions, she is responsible for the overall management of staff and financial accountability of the group. Montana has an undergraduate Civil Engineering degree from Queen’s University, a Masters of Civil Engineering from Western University and hold a Project Management Professional designation. She is also working on an Executive MBA outside of her full time commitments. Montana’s proudest achievement is her two children. She and her husband also have two dogs and a cat.

Selda Gunsel, Vice President Global Commercial Technology
Royal Dutch Shell PLC

Selda Gunsel is responsible for leading a global group of scientists and engineers in the delivery of innovation, research and development, and technical services to Shell Lubricants and businesses including Marine, Aviation, and Specialties. In 2017, Selda was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in recognition of her distinguished contributions to engineering. She’s won multiple awards for outstanding research and development during her time at Shell and has published extensively in the field of lubrication science, received patents, and built partnerships to advance fuels and lubricants to meet growing global energy demand while reducing carbon dioxide emissions.