26
Geotechnical News • September 2018
COMPUTING IN GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
From the GS Board
to conduct field work. She progressed
from there to the Geology and Geo-
technics, and Dam Behaviour depart-
ments to become Director of Central
Engineering (1984), Director of
Construction (1986), and then Director
of Plant Engineering (1988). Dani-
elle was the first female to become a
Director in Hydro-Québec’s history.
Danielle attended a number of CGS
annual conferences in the early 1970s
and was involved with the Association
for Women in Science for a number of
years. Also in the early 1970s, Dani-
elle volunteered with the Ordre des
Ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ), where
she served as Secretary-Treasurer and
Vice-President and then became its
first female President in 1975. Three
years later Danielle became the first
female President of the Canadian
Council of Professional Engineers
(currently Engineers Canada). Fol-
lowing a long and illustrious career,
Danielle retired in 2004 returning to
her love of painting.
Closing remarks
There is some commonality in all the
women profiled. They have focused on
their technical competency, benefited
from wonderful mentors, and have
been involved in both the geotechni-
cal and wider professional communi-
ties. Common pieces of advice they
provided have been to concentrate
on technical skills and professional
judgement, to develop good working
relationships and to take advantage of
the opportunities that come along.
We encourage everyone to learn more
about women’s involvement and
their contributions to the Canadian
geotechnical profession. If you have
further information or personal stories
to share, please send them to the CGS
Heritage Committee
.
The future for women in the Canadian
geotechnique looks very bright.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the
women who were interviewed as part
of this initiative and their willing-
ness to share their experience and to
provide inspiration and mentorship to
future generations of female geotech-
nical professionals. Melissa Ruel,
Amy Rentz and Sarah Verwey helped
interview some of the women. Ariane
Locat, Frédérique Tremblay-Auger,
Catherine Cloutier, Julie Therrien,
Sandra Veillette, and Lilianne Landry-
Paré assisted with the French transla-
tions of the posters for GeoEdmonton
2018.
The author would also like to thank
Doug VanDine and Heinrich Heinz
for their efforts and encouragement in
this initiative. Their encouragement,
and that of others, to get more women
involved in the Canadian geotechni-
cal community is greatly appreciated
by several young women, the author
included.
Andrea Lougheed
BGC Engineering Inc. and CGS
Heritage Committee member,
Suite 500 - 980 Howe Street,
Vancouver, BC, V6Z 0C8
T: 604-684-5900 ext 41378
Danielle Zaikoff.
