Christine MacKinnon Snippet A

Agricultural engineer and public servant Christine MacKinnon describes her first engineering job, designing farm buildings in Nova Scotia. She and her boss travelled to a lot of farms, where she was frequently told "you don't look like the last engineer that we had out here!" She quickly recognized techniques necessary to earn the trust of farmers. She also recalls, as a woman starting in the profession, "a lot of old attitudes". There were incidents that would be described today as "extremely sexist", that she would resolve with humour. She attributes the reluctance of individuals to work with her to her inexperience and not her gender – but she has also worked to encourage young women to pursue engineering careers.