Building Safer Workplaces: Reflections from the White Ribbon Engineering Change Workshop

On March 11, OSPE hosted the Engineering Change Workshop in collaboration with White Ribbon. Engineering Change is a national initiative led by White Ribbon in partnership with OSPE, aimed at advancing gender equity and addressing gender-based violence in the engineering profession.

The session advanced conversations about equity, inclusion, and professional responsibility among the attendees from engineering workplaces. The Engineering Change program will soon be available online and in-person. The online format will allow for broad uptake in the engineering community, and the in-person format offers a space for shared learning and collective reflection.

Building Skills for Systemic Change

The Engineering Change program is grounded in practical. Skill-based learning. It draws on frameworks like intersectionality and Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+), helping participants understand how overlapping identity factors can shape experiences and access to opportunities.

During the session, participants explored how these concepts apply within engineering contexts. This included identifying systemic barriers, examining workplace culture, and learning tools to become better allies to marginalized members of the engineering community.

By the end of the session, attendees were equipped to:

• Recognize inequities within professional settings
• Contribute to safer, more respectful workplaces
• Identify their rights and legislative protection in Ontario and Canadian workplaces
• Identify and intervene in situations of sexual harassment

Why the Engineering Profession Needs These Conversations

Programs like Engineering Change are designed to equip professionals with the tools to better understand how social dynamics, like gender, intersect with their work. Research shows that male-dominated fields are at higher risk for gender-based biases, harm, and harassment. The training emphasizes that gender-based violence and inequity are not isolated issues, but systemic challenges that can be addressed through awareness, leadership, and cultural change.

Looking ahead, initiatives like Engineering Change play an important role in shaping a more inclusive and accountable engineering profession. As the program expands through its upcoming online delivery, it will provide broader access to these critical conversations and tools across the country. For OSPE and its members, this work reinforces that technical expertise must be accompanied by a strong commitment to ethical practice, equity, and public safety. Sessions like this mark an important step toward a more respectful and equitable profession for all.