To celebrate International Women's Day, GuelphToday is featuring the six honourees for this year's Guelph Y Women of Distinction.
There’s been a change in leadership at the University of Guelph and for the first time a woman has been chosen for the role.
“It’s only ever been occupied by men,” explains Charlotte Yates, interim president and vice-chancellor, about her current title, “I am the first woman president of the university.”
The former provost and vice-president of academics, Yates has been in the position for several months, replacing the former president, Franco Vaccarino.
While choosing a woman as interim president of the U of G is ground-breaking, Yates acknowledges the path for her to take on this role has been years in the making.
“The chair of our board of governors is a woman, and I believe she is the first woman to occupy that,” she mentions, “There is a young woman that heads our alumni association.
“So I think there is just so much evidence of change, and embrace the agenda of equity, diversity and inclusion, and I think that has made it easier for me to occupy this role.”
Regardless, she also mentions this is a real milestone for women, which is why she is thrilled to have been selected as an honouree for Women of Distinction 2021.
“I think surrounded by a great team, the university has been paving the way for this change for a while now, and right now this seems like a really great time to be president at the University of Guelph.”
Now, the next steps in this role for Yates is helping fix invisible barriers in academic settings for women, Indigenous peoples and minority groups.
For women specifically, Yates says she wants to create mentorship networks for those wishing to pursue a career in post secondary education.
She explains a majority of undergraduate students at universities are women, but that pipeline narrows in graduate school and when seeking an academic career.
“It’s about the network,” says Yates, “Understanding the how to, from finishing your PhD and going into a career position, all that mentoring and championing, I think that’s important.”
She says across the whole sector, there are probably more research chairs being allocated to men than women, but women are being hired more at junior levels, creating a complex interplay of factors.
“Some of it will be corrected with time, and I think some of it will be corrected by really, kind of active intervention to overcome barriers,” Yates continues, “And then making sure that softer side, that network, that confidence to know what to expect, and that better prepares you to move into positions that are not typically made for women.”
Breaking down these barriers also includes enhancing experiential learning opportunities for the BIPOC students and advancing anti-racism issues while increasing gender equity.
“We want students to have a wonderful experience at the university, and we want them to be successful once they’re ready to launch beyond university, ” Yates explains about the things she wants to achieve as president.
“It’s a pretty good list, and it keeps us busy.”
