WIE(VR) - Women in Engineering (Vancouver Region)

“Networking across workplaces, engineering fields and universities.”

We invite you to join us for the WIE(VR) Movie Night featuring the documentary film: ‘Rosies of the North’, an inspirational story of Elsie MacGill, the first Canadian female engineer and first woman aircraft designer in the world. During World War II, Canadian Car and Foundry hired 200 women as technicians to construct Hawker Hurricane fighter planes for the Battle of Britain. This film documents these Canadian women’s contributions to the advancement of aeronautical engineering, as well as their struggle for equality. It stands as a testament of courage to rise up and redefine conventions.

Elsie MacGill was born in Vancouver. After graduating from the University of Toronto in 1927, she became the first Canadian woman to earn an Electrical Engineering degree and was later famously known as the ‘Queen of Hurricanes’. In addition to technical pursuits, she greatly encouraged female technicians to continue working in the aeronautics industry and strive for equality, both during and post WWII era.