Algonquin College’s Women in Tech and Trades event empowers students, encourages networking

May Bradford, an Algonquin alumna of the motive power technician program, was inspired to become a mechanic in high school when she took an automotive class.

Now, she’s the only woman in a group of six men in an auto shop.

And she’s tired of being “babied.”

“If I start even slightly (to) struggle, they’ll just jump in and do it for me. They won’t let me struggle and figure it out, or try and do whatever I can to figure it out,” said Bradford, who was one of many women who attended the Women in Tech and Trades event on March 30 in Algonquin College’s D-building.

Bradford said networking at events like the WiTT panel has empowered her and boosted her confidence.

“I’ve been to about three of these kinds of events now, and it’s every time I go, I build more of a backbone, and I’m a lot more assertive of, ‘No, stop what you’re doing. This is my project. I am working on this car. I am asking for assistance, not for you to do it.’ And they’ve started to respect me on that, but it’s… I’ve been there for two years and it’s an uphill battle every day,” said Bradford.

The event was set to start at 4 p.m., but people began streaming in early and the room was full by 3:45 p.m. Companies set up booths where students could ask about different pathways and potential job opportunities after graduation.

“We’re always trying to find new ways to hire women in our R&D roles. I think it’s an ongoing struggle for a lot of companies. So having events like this helps us to reach those goals of having diversity in the workplace,” said Meagan O’Leary, HR specialist and campus lead at Ross Video.

Algonquin College’s WiTT program, revamped in September 2025 and previously named We Saved You a Seat, supports women pursuing careers in traditionally male-dominated industries.

By increasing the visibility of women as leaders, WiTT encourages women to consider a wider range of career paths. Representation brings a wide range of perspectives, particularly within these industries that thrive on innovation and diverse thinking.

The panel consisted of four professionals in tech or trades, with Katherine Root, dean of the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence, acting as moderator and asking questions.

Themes that each of the women kept coming back to were taking initiative, getting out of your comfort zone and being bold.

Katherine Rodger, estimating manager at Black & McDonald, had advice for graduating students.

“I find a lot of the times I’m interviewing new grads, and I can’t hear you across the table, I have no confidence I’ll be able to hear you in the workplace,” said Rodger. “But speak up, speak clearly, and ask questions.”

Alise Wang, cybersecurity operations manager at CGI, recalled spending late nights studying for midterms. She said she’d browse the Eventbrite pages, looking for networking events like this one.

“That was actually how I met one of my mentors. It was on — it was very symbolic — it was on an International Women’s Day breakfast,” said Wang.

“And she is still one of my very close friends, but if I hadn’t put myself out there, hadn’t registered for a random Eventbrite… you know, I wouldn’t have met amazing people.”

Aparna Shanker, IP professional services and PLM head at Nokia, had advice for cementing a strong professional foundation early in your career.

“In the beginning, when you just start off in your career, nothing beats hard work. We need to put in the work. Put your head down and work and be good at what you do. There’s no excuse for being lazy, for being inefficient,” said Shanker.

“If you don’t know an answer, I don’t mind it…You’re never gonna have all the answers.”

After the panel discussion, the floor was opened to audience questions. One student asked how they deal with sometimes being the only woman or only person of colour in the room.

“I would challenge a reframe of being the only one in that room to being early in the room, and really look at it through that lens,” said Sheena Brady, AC alumna and general manager at Fullscript Canada.

“Are you, in fact, early to the room and do you have incredible, unique perspective, experience, not just professional, but lived experience?”

Students networked with each other and employers after the question portion.

Algonquin student Albatoul Abusneina, in her last semester of business entrepreneurship, said organizations need to be better at considering the needs of a diverse workplace, even when it comes to worker protection. For a final project in one class, her group is making work wear for women in trades.

“I’ve had people come tell me their daughter’s got a hi-vis vest, and then it was way too big on her shoulders. It kept falling off and that’s a safety issue,” said Abusneina.

“There’s so many issues that are not being addressed, and I think that if we want to look back throughout history, things don’t happen unless we force it, and we make those changes, and we make those spaces.”