You’re invited to join Dr. Campbell and Dr. Shirley Mills from the School of Mathematics and Statistics for an interesting discussion about the evolution of women in the field of statistics in Canada.

As another cohort prepares to graduate with degrees in statistical sciences, they are being welcomed into an era that has seen enormous opportunity and growth.

However, the evolution of statistical tools are not the only change when compared to previous decades. The numbers graduating with undergraduate degrees in mathematics and statistics has more than doubled in Canada since 2009, and the profession of Assistant Professors now celebrates a nearly even female-male gender split when pooled across all departments and Canadian universities. The latter is a big change from 1970/1971, the first year with data, when women accounted for barely 10% of Assistant Professors. Substantial change over time gives rise to questions about what has happened over the past decades. In the first part of the talk, Dr. Campbell will present the poster on the evolution of Women in Statistics in Canada.
With support from the Faculty of Science, the Statistical Society of Canada, and the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute, Carleton alumni Marieta-rita Osezua and Jeeheon Kim gathered and compiled information about the evolution of Women in Statistics in Canada which was then refined using feedback from individuals and the broader professional community. Poster design work was completed by Alina Rizwan.

In the first part of the talk, Dr. Campbell will present the poster on the evolution of Women in Statistics in Canada. In the second part, Dr. Shirley Mills will review the changing landscape in Canada from the 1960s until today for women in the statistical sciences and in academia in general. Encompassing both personal stories as well as professional and national perspectives, it will outline progress made and ongoing efforts to support and increase diversity (i.e. variability) in the profession.

The poster was supported by funds from Statistical Society of Canada (SSC), Faculty of Science at Carleton, Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute (CANSSI) and the event is sponsored by the Tutte Institute for Mathematics and Computing (TIMC).

Pizza lunch will be provided.

About the presenters:

Dr. Dave Campbell is a Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics and the School of Computer Science at Carleton University and president-elect of the Business and Industrial Statistics Section of the Statistical Society of Canada. Academically, he runs a collaborative team researching inferential algorithms at the intersections of statistics with machine learning, computing, natural language processing, and applied mathematics to solve problems inspired by industry and government collaborations. Professor Campbell leads a research team developing methodological tools at the intersections of statistics with computer science and mathematical modelling. His research includes fitting differential equation models to data, capturing the epistemic uncertainty from using numerical approximations, and computational Bayesian tools that can navigate multi-modal likelihoods.

Shirley Mills is Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Carleton University (1983- ) and Past-President (2024-25) of the Statistical Society of Canada (SSC): a professional society of over 1200 statisticians and data scientists that accredits statisticians in Canada. She also worked as Director of Mathematics Research in the federal government and served as the volunteer Executive Director of the Statistical Society of Canada. Before becoming a professor, she worked as an actuary at Great-West Life in Winnipeg. She is a graduate of the University of Alberta (PhD) and the University of Manitoba (B.Sc.(Dbl.Hon.), M.Sc., Sec. Ed. Cert..) and has been a professor in universities in Manitoba, Alberta, and Ontario since 1971. She has been recognized for teaching excellence at each of the three universities at which she has worked.