Leading Through Story: Immigrant Women in Engineering | Claudia Gomez-Villeneuve and Sara Mighan

What does it mean to lead through story—especially when your path into engineering has been shaped by family expectations, immigrant identity, gender, caregiving, language, and the pressure to keep proving yourself?Recorded live at the CCWESTT Conference in Calgary, this special Hearth 2 Heart episode features a panel conversation with Claudia Gomez-Villeneuve, Sara Mighan, and host Gayathri Shukla on the lived experiences of immigrant women in engineering. Together, they explore what often sits beneath the surface of career advancement: being told women “don’t belong” on site, returning from maternity leave to a demotion or vanished role, discovering pay gaps, learning the unwritten “politics of engineering,” and why immigrant women need better pathways to P.Eng. recognition.This episode is a reminder that gender equity in engineering cannot be separated from intersectionality and belonging—and that sharing our stories can help make the invisible rules visible for those coming next.Resources mentioned in episode:CCWESTT 2026 Conference: Beyond BAPEGA Salary Survey pageWomen in Consulting EngineeringEngineers Canada 30 by 30 initiativeLanded: Transformative Stories of Immigrant WomenThe Fires We Lit: Illustrated Stories of Women Reimagining the RulesCampfire KinshipLotus STEMMwww.campfirekinship.com