cole Polytechnique massacre 'left a scar,' says first woman to have engineering school named after her

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Originally published on Dec. 6, 2018.

When a gunman killed 14 womenatcolePolytechniquein Montreal, Que. in 1989, GinaParvanehCody learned the news in horror at nearbyConcordiaUniversity.

"It left a scar," said Cody, an Iranian immigrant who moved to Canada in 1979 to pursue her dream of getting a PhD in engineering.

Cody graduated with her doctoratethesame year as the Montreal Massacre.

She toldThe Current'sAnna MariaTremonti that after the attack which many saw asa misogynisticact of violence she wanted to"make a future where women are allowed in engineering."

According to a Stats Canada study, while young women represent the majority of recent university graduates they are still underrepresented in STEM fields.

Thirty years after graduating, Concordiahasrenamed a department in her honour: theGina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. It is the first time a Canadianengineering school has been named after a woman.

The accolade comes after Cody gifted $15 million totheuniversity'sengineering program. Her career progressed from being the only female crane inspector in Toronto, to becomingthe former executive chair and principal shareholder ofCCIGroup, a large engineering firm in the city.

Cody says that while her mother married young and never finished high school, sheoften impressed upon her daughters how important it was to get an education.

"Her message to me and my sister who became a dentist wasas a woman, to be independent, youhave to pursue higher education."

Click 'listen' near the top of this page to hear the full conversation.

Produced by SamiraMohyeddin.