We are proud to announce that Quebec EXP Sustainable Development Coordinator Manuelle Croft, has received the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) 2022 Honoris Genius award for the category Progress of Women in the Profession. Manuelle was presented with the award during the OIQ’s Soirée de l’excellence en génie, which took place in Montreal on May 18.
Over the years, Manuelle has spent countless hours volunteering her time to actively promote engineering and science to girls and women, supporting Engineers Canada’s “30 by 30” initiative and its goal of raising the percentage of newly licensed women engineers to 30% by the year 2030, a number that is universally held as the tipping point for sustainable change. A longtime advocate of women in the engineering profession, in 2019 Manuelle committed to initiating and contributing to new actions supporting the advancement of women in the engineering field. One of those actions led to the creation of the Femme de génie scholarship, now accessible to all women admitted to the UQAR’s (Université du Québec à Rimouski) engineering program. Manuelle also promotes engineering to younger students, especially girls, through science and engineering focused presentations in Montreal area elementary schools and high schools.
“Representing women in engineering, in a predominantly male industry, makes me proud and drives me to support the advancement of women in our field. Through my commitment and actions, I am not only seeking to support and encourage women to become engineers, but I want to show them what makes a career in engineering so stimulating and rewarding. I want them to understand that there is a place for them in engineering and how significant women’s contributions are to the profession,” explains Manuelle.
The OIQ’s annual Soirée d’excellence en génie celebrates outstanding engineering accomplishments in Quebec, showcasing the projects and engineers that shape and advance the industry and the profession. Congratulations to Manuelle and to all the 2022 nominees!