This is the second blog post in a series to celebrate “Women’s History Month.”  October has been set aside by the Government of Canada to celebrate the significant contributions women make to our society. In light of this celebration I have decided to dedicate blog posts in the month of October to women in our history who have made a significant contribution to Canadian science.

This year’s theme is Women in the Lead and honours the girls and women in Canada, past and present, who have gone first and opened doors for others to follow.

Elizabeth Muriel Gregory “Elsie” MacGill was the first Canadian woman to earn a degree in electrical engineering. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1927 and continued her studies at the University of Michigan. She became the first North American woman to be awarded a masters degree in aeronautical engineering. She obtained her doctoral studies at MIT in Cambridge, after she was stricken with polio and learned to walk again using metal canes.

In 1934 Elsie was the first woman elected to corporate membership in the Engineering Institute of Canada and later that year she was hired as Chief Aeronautical Engineer at Canada Car and Foundry (CC&F), becoming the first woman in the world to hold such a position. Under her leadership the factory in Thunder Bay, Ontario was selected to build the Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft for the Royal Air Force, building over 1,400 Hurricanes. Her fame carried over to a comic book published in the United States, using her then-famous nickname, “The Queen of the Hurricanes.”

After 1943 Elsie started her own aeronautical consulting business with husband, Bill Soulsby and became the first woman to serve as Technical Advisor for International Civil Aviation Organization, where she helped to draft regulations for the design and production of commercial aircraft.

In 1947 she was the first woman to chair a UN committee, when she chaired the Stress Analysis Committee.
The work of her mother and grandmother in the suffrage movement inspired her to devote significant time to the women’s rights during the 1960s. In 1967 she was named to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada and in 1971 was presented with the Order of Canada.

Following her death in 1980, a member of the Ninety-Nines, an organization of women aviators, used these words to described Elsie: “She had a brilliant mind and was recognized as an outstanding Canadian woman. Neither gender nor disability prevented her from using her talents to serve her community and country.”

Elsie MacGill accomplished many firsts as a female engineer throughout her career, opening many doors for women to follow. Her contributions to engineering and to the women’s movement warrant celebration.

For more information on Women’s History Month visit
http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/dates/whm/index_e.html.