GM manager encourages women to get involved in science and tech
Stephanie Thompson of STEMbySteph hosts workshops for women of all ages
To Stephanie Thompson, one of the biggest challenges the manufacturing industry faces is storytelling.
She’s not the first woman to work in technology or move up the corporate ladder into a position of leadership — not even at General Motors Canada, where Thompson has worked for two decades.
But many women have never had their stories told. Either because they were pushed to the background, or some man took credit for their work, or audiences didn’t want to listen.
That trickles down onto the next generation. If a young woman doesn’t see someone who has been through a similar journey, they begin asking whether it’s a path worth taking.
So whenever possible, Thompson shares her story — as a woman at GM’s St. Catharines propulsion plant and as a woman in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
“If my story can help somebody then it’s all the more powerful.
“It humbles me that I’ve had this privilege, it humbles me that I’ve been able to be in the positions that I’ve been in because you think about what one story, one person can change in terms of a workplace and a spectrum,” said Thompson.
“We need a cross-section of people in society to really help us figure out the problems of the world and I want women to have a huge voice in that problem-solving.”
Next month, Thompson will be honoured in Washington, D.C., as a recipient of the 2024 Women MAKE Awards. Held by the Manufacturing Institute, the award identifies top talent in support of the next generation of female talent to pursue modern manufacturing careers.
Thompson was recognized for her success as a leader in the North American auto industry. Thompson is thrilled the award comes with two-day leadership conference in Washington, where she will have an opportunity to interact with women from across different industries.
“I’m really excited to learn more, to see what’s out there, to see how different geographic locations have realized the support of women,” she said. “The leveraging of ideas between individuals can make the biggest difference.”
As a young girl, Thompson didn’t know women in science was a challenge. Her dad encouraged her sense of discovery, making sure she understood it was “something to be proud of.”
In high school, she was selected to attend a four-day career study at a nuclear power plant and remembers how special it felt to have her science teacher recognize “something in yourself that you might not have seen.”
She credited that feeling for applying to University of Waterloo’s engineering program, which had about 50 per cent women enrolled. Her first real understanding about the difficulties for women came when Thompson was hired at General Motors in 2001. She entered the automotive space, historically male dominated, and saw those female numbers “dwindle.”
“Your willingness to learn and your willingness to engage the people around you should also be there to support you and I think I felt very lucky in that space,” she said.
“I can look back and say that the support I felt has definitely outweighed the negative or any of the challenges that really come along.”
But there were disadvantages, with Thompson recognizing a technical skills gap between herself and other male colleagues.
Growing up, she didn’t have access to robotics club or any real way to build her skills. The way in which women do use technical skills — in the arts, cooking or crocheting — is not seen with any value in society.
To her, whether lines of code in crochet or computers, it’s the “same thinking process” and because women are intrinsically involved, it’s translated differently, and “it makes me upset,” she said.
Early in her career she began volunteering in First Robotics, mentoring high school students while building up her own skill-set. She also began wondering what happened to women pushed out of the STEM pipeline and who did not have a science teacher to encourage them.
In 2018, she created STEMbySteph.com, and held workshops that allowed women to create technical content — and conversation. They have continued because they are “so empowering.”
What was most interesting to Thompson wasn’t the young people who showed up — she said young girls are “strong and they’re doing great” — but the number of women between 40 and 85 years old.
It was that age demographic that wanted to get back into science, including an 85-year-old who never had STEM programming as an option.
“Unless somebody gives you that opportunity, you might go your whole life thinking that you weren’t good at something and you actually are really, really good at it and the world isn’t benefiting from that talent-set,” said Thompson.
A few years ago, Thompson also started Niagara Women in STEM, a committee of local shareholders, to connect and share ideas and resources.
The group hosted events at DSBN Academy and, later this month, is working with the food culinary program at Niagara College.
It is also hosting a Women in STEM night in collaboration with Innovate Niagara and open to the community.
There is now much more programming than Thompson had growing up, but still not enough women in STEM. To expand its reach, Thompson is working with YWCA to break barriers and offer programming to young people outside the traditional education system — and if “they can go to these camps and reach these resources, it elevates everyone.”
Part of her mentorship role is to prepare graduating students for the reality of the workforce. Thompson this weekend is attending Queen’s University, where she will present a workshop for its women’s automotive club.
While she wants to the women to know there is a place for them in the industry, she also wants them to understand what to look for — understanding the corporate culture and the community that exists around them, filled with women who came before.
“They need to know that they belong, they’re going to be respected when they get there. Young women can’t be held responsible for controlling the culture that they go into,” she said.
“Toxicity is not something they can change, that’s something that has to be the responsibility of those running the agencies. They have the tools to get out and to understand it’s OK and it’s not on them to make those things happen.”
Stephanie Thompson wants women to know there is a place for them in the automotive industry