Élizabeth: Woman of Science and Belugas

My first job in the field of marine mammals was with GREMM in 2019. I was working as a research assistant during the summer between Cégep (Translator’s note: Quebec college) and university. I then completed a program in environmental sciences at Dawson College in Montréal followed by a bachelor’s degree in biology at Université de Montréal. That’s where I met Jade-Audrey, my future colleague at GREMM! I returned to Tadoussac every summer throughout my undergraduate studies. During the summers of 2020 and 2021, I worked with whales in the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park. I carried out whale surveys and censuses in Sainte-Marguerite Bay as well as on whale-watching boats. Then, after I finished my bachelor’s degree in April 2022, I was quite lucky and managed to land a job at GREMM.

At a very young age, I knew I wanted to work with animals. Then, I made a mistake a lot of kids make: When I was 7, I visited SeaWorld in San Diego with my family. I participated in a show at the aquarium with dolphins and pilot whales. I was already hooked, but I think it was when I was 10 or 12 years old and we came to Tadoussac and took a cruise that I really discovered my passion. It was AMAZING. For me, this was the big trigger. It’s one thing to see them in wildlife documentaries or in an aquarium, but now I was old enough to understand the beauty of these animals. It was love at first sight and at that moment, I knew this was what I wanted to work toward. Something that really struck me on the cruise, and still to this day, is when whales surface to breath. Especially that first spout, when they come out of the water and it’s been a long time since they took their last breath. We encounter a lot of mammals, but it’s rare that we hear them breath like that.

I feel like there are a lot of barriers for women in science and in life in general. Sometimes it’s more difficult to have self-confidence and see yourself for all that you’re worth. You mustn’t be afraid to go for it.

Personally, I realize that I’ve been really lucky, but I know that throughout my post-secondary studies I had friends who experienced sexism. There is also the wage gap. According to Statistics Quebec, in 2021, the hourly wage of white women was around 91% that of men, and we’re not even talking about racialized women, Indigenous women, recent immigrants, etc. In other words, systemic barriers still exist.

First of all, I think women DO have their place in science; women have their place everywhere. Throughout my studies and my career, I did not feel that women were a minority, but I also know that it is not like that for everyone.

I find that to encourage girls, we must emphasize women’s contribution to science by highlighting the diverse and interesting potential paths that are available so that young women and girls can see that opportunities do indeed exist. I feel that it would take more women in management and other senior positions to prove that we not only have our place within the team, but that we can develop and progress in this discipline. We are not limited to specific hierarchical strata.

A lot of it comes down to education. Men share part of the responsibility, but so do those of us who belong to the privileged class. As a white woman, I enjoy certain privileges compared to a racialized woman. I believe it is up to privileged people to recognize this and use this privilege to help others. This requires a lot of mutual assistance and compassion.