LindedIn post of March 12, 2026:
It feels a bit indulgent to have received three CIM (https://www.cim.org/) and one APEGS (https://www.apegs.ca/) award. I am truly honoured and grateful to my peers, and I will do my best to represent these awards well, including the one from DIAC CIM.
I am appreciate the Canadian Mining Journal for sharing the story about my most recent CIM award: CIM honours USask’s Donna Beneteau with engineering achievement award - Canadian Mining Journal
I also want to recognize the support of the CIM Underground Mining Society and Mitacs, whose funding kicked off the digitization of CIM Bulletins, from 1908 to 2006, as noted in the attached article.
For CIM Connect 2026, I reviewed CIM Bulletins back to 1990, which is when I started my career as an engineer in mining. I came across a number of articles on diversity that stood out:
- Scholarships for female engineering students (August 1991, Vol. 84, No. 952, p. 54) - Energy, Mines and Resources provided a $40,000 grant to the 1989 Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation for scholarships for women engineering students.
- Women in science and technology opening new doors (September 1992, Vol. 85, No. 963, p. 38) - The Society of Canadian Women in Science and Technology, founded in 1981, opened a resource centre at Simon Fraser University. One of their goals was encouraging equal opportunities for women in scientific, technological and engineering careers.
- Women’s Association of the Mining Industry of Canada (March 1994, Vol. 87, No. 978, p. 105) - WAMIC, founded in 1921, provided companionship and fostered friendships for women connected with the mining industry by marriage or profession.
- Women’s Engineers: a strong presence (July-August 1994, Vol. 87, No. 982, p. 79) - This article highlights women engineers recognized at the YM-YWCA Women of Distinction Awards.
- Towards a gender-free mining industry (January 1995, Vol. 88, No. 986, p. 32) - M. Phyllis Bray discusses planning for women in the mining workforce into the 21st century and suggests ways to strengthen the industry by better recognizing their contributions. She also notes the formation of the Canadian Committee on Women in Engineering following the 1989 Montreal Massacre.
- Guest Program CIM ’97 (March 1997, Vol. 90, No. 1008, p. 74) - This program was planned by the Greater Vancouver Mining Women’s Association.
- From high heels to steel toes (January 1999, Vol. 92, p. 24 to 28) - Heather Ednie highlights women contributing to the mining industry and concludes with the statement: “For women, now is a good time to get involved in mining.” She also lists organizations supporting networking at the time, including CAWIS, WISE Sudbury, SCWIST, AWSN, AWG, WISEST, WIP, APASE and CCWEST.
- CIM welcomes first female life member (March 2004, Vol. 97, No. 1078, p. 44) - Geologist Pauline Moyd became the first female member of the 50-year club.
-Regendineering the mining industry: a survey of women’s career experiences in mining (September 2004, Vol. 97, No. 1082, p. 54) - Ginger Gibson and Malcolm Scoble report on a survey of 50 women in mining and identify nine common hurdles.
Looking back, it is clear that progress in our industry has been built over decades, and it is important that we preserve and learn from that history.
This is why publications like CIM Magazine and the Canadian Mining Journal matter. They document our story and make it possible for future generations to answer "What have you done today that did not involve a mineral?"
The CIM Societies benefit from volunteers who contribute their time to help shape the future of the industry. I strongly encourage others to get involved and expand their networks, as I did. After 35 years, I can say the people I have worked with made it worthwhile. The awards are simply the icing on the cake.